The Fail-Safe
by Athe-spirit
Summary: Story Adopted: "In that small amount of time that he'd been here with us he put the puzzle pieces together and devised a a fail-safe, safety-net if you will inside of the girl" A Time-Travel Jutsu was their last resort to save the world. Sakura would need to make sure that changing Madara's life around would change the outcome of the war they had lost in her reality.
1. Chapter I : To End At The Beginning

Authors Note

After an excruciating amount of time I was finally able to get a hold of the author Forever Gypsy with the request that I adopt this abandoned story. Please do understand that while she is the original author of this story, I have decided to make adjustments to it but the general plot line is still being kept too, with her permission of course.

All characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi.

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**Chapter **

**I**

_**To End At The Beginning**_

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The cave was dark and damp but it was the only place with nothing besides the last standing shinobi's alive inside. Taking in a calculated breath she turned her attention back to Naruto who was uncharacteristically quiet. Considering the situation she understood completely the need for silence; across from her was Obito and Kakashi talking in hushed tones as they strategized and tried to figure what to do and leaning in the darkest parts of the cavern walls away from all of them was Sasuke. She knew he was finally not sure what was going to happen. Nothing he had done had helped put even a single dent in Kaguya's defenses.

Everyone else was caught or had either died trying to fight against Kabuto, Obito, Madara and Kaguya.

Leaning her head back against the cavern wall as she took careful breaths, the cavern was small and they didn't want to make to much noise or use up to much oxygen. They couldn't risk Kaguya finding them. Her eyes landed on Obito to find him staring hard at her, she would even allow herself to use the word inquisitively for the way he was looking at her .. possibly maybe even contemplative. She didn't like it one bit, it made her feel uneasy.

He looked back to Kakashi and began conversing even quieter this time. Even in the dark she could see that whatever he was saying made Kakashi's body go rigid, Obito words putting him on edge.

_"No"_ She looked back over at Sasuke only to be stopped dead in her movements as Obito was in front of her, the tomoe of his Sharingan was spinning and she had never realized how truly pretty the sharingan was until then. What seemed like millennium of looking into his eyes was only mere seconds and she was brought back to the real world to find Naruto and Sasuke angrily pulling Obito away from her.

Obito straightened himself up and placed his hands up in a surrender form. "What did you see Obito"? Kakashi asked as he stood up from his position. Naruto looked over to them finally realizing that something was going on, Obito was up to something again. "What did you do you damned Uchiha?"

Kakashi protected Obito from Naruto and Sasuke though as he got in-between the Older Uchiha and the boys. "Now, now let's all calm down" Obito didn't need his protection though. "We don't have much time, I needed to see why she had survived when no other's had … She's only a girl and yet here she is … Now I know, she was a key".

She could feel her brow twitch in agitation. "A key?" She looked over to Naruto and Sasuke who looked just as perplexed as she was. Obito nodded his head. "Itachi was a genius like no other, he had the ability to see what others couldn't … I suppose that when he was reincarnated by Kabuto that he had begun to put the pieces of everything together when he saw that Madara had been reincarnated as well. … In that small amount of time that he'd been here with us he put the puzzle pieces together and devised a a fail-safe, safety-net if you will inside of the girl" She was really getting pissed off that he was not using her name.

Naruto looked back to her and she caught his eyes and she knew that just by looking at him that he was at his wits end. They needed to finish this fight and he was willing to do anything to save the world. For some odd reason Naruto trusted Itachi, they barely even spoke to one another but Naruto had found a trust in him that she couldn't understand but considering they were at war she supposed she didn't need to.

Obitos words made her blood run cold though. "Itachi now only gave her a fragment of his chakra but he embedded a blue-print in her mind on how to do a time travel-jutsu".

Was that even possible? "Time-travel is a Kinjutsu for a reason!" She tried to explain it to them, she needed them to realize what they were about to do. "Shinobi have gone mad, they've died and some have even disappeared and torn their bodies apart trying to attempt such a feat! Doing it could kill us all if we make even the slightest mistake!"

The air in the room seemed to thicken around them all and they knew that Kaguya was not far away, thanks to Obito's use of the Sharingan she was on their trail now.

Sasuke protected his older brother though and Naruto backed him up as he nodded his head in agreement. "Itachi would not place such a task inside your head if he even thought that it would hurt us all, besides I'm sure you can all feel it, Kaguya is almost on us, we have no other choice, all of our chakra reserves are low and if we face her now we'd might as well have surrendered to her. The jutsu is the only other way".

She swallowed hard, Obito was keeping something out of the equation though, he knew that whatever else was there was to it would make Sasuke and Naruto change their minds.

He looked over all of them then. "We need to get started on the preparations, I need to use Kamui but I don't have the necessary chakra to do it".

She knew exactly what that meant. She looked down, maybe this was it, maybe this was why she was able to stay alive in order to sacrifice herself in order to help them get back to the past.

She stood up only to be shut down by Obito. "Not you girl" Naruto looked quizzical trying to understand what was happening. Kakashi then finally spoke up. "I'll do it" Naruto sounded confused as he finally decided to question what was happening. "Do what? What are you all talking about?" Sasuke kept his look on Kakashi as he spoke.

"The only way to take chakra when you don't have much of your own left is to take it from another … You have to kill the other person and force their chakra into your own body".

She didn't want to do this, she backed as far away from all of them as possible and Obito was next to her then, pulling her back. "You're not going anywhere" She struggled against his grip on her arm "Let me go! I'm not going to do this!" He stopped then and grabbed her other arm as he shook her in anger "You have too!" She was worried she had just made Obito yell and he wasn't exactly someone who yelled. Since this war began she hadn't heard such a thing from him and it made her stop. "I didn't understand at first but now I do, I always wondered why the Sandaime had placed a useless girl with the Jinchurriki and one of the last surviving Uchiha's on a team with Kakashi but now I realized, now I understand why not the Hyuga girl, why not the Yamanaka girl, but you … It all makes sense now" He looked cold at her as his hands moved from her arms and he gripped her wrist harshly. "I will force you if I have to".

"Sakura" She turned towards Kakashi then and he smiled at her as he slipped off his mask and revealed his handsome face that he hid away from everyone.

"It's okay Sakura, sacrificing myself for the greater good ... protecting you three, it's the most honorable way to die". He pulled a kunai from his pouch and looked down at it as he continued. "Obito, as soon as you get to your dimension you need to make sure that you do everything quickly Kaguya isn't far". Obito's grip on her wrist loosened as he let her go and walked over to Kakashi.

"Don't worry Kakashi, I'll take care of them". Obito looked back to them, "Hold onto to me". Sasuke appeared before her then and grabbed her hand wrapping her between him and Naruto while they held onto Obito.

There was no way any of them could actually harm Kakashi, it was too complicated, he was their brother, their father, their confidant. He was everything to them, even if none of them ever admitted it.

Kakashi stabbed himself, Obito quickly reached into his chest and grabbed his heart, she could see his chakra reaching into Kakashi's heart and grabbing the last bits of his own chakra. Kakashi fell before them and they were whisked away from the sight and into the Kamui dimension.

They let go of each other and Obito grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her away from Naruto and Sasuke. "Listen here girl". He let go of her then and sighed as he attempted to cool himself down. "You need to understand the situation. Sasuke and I are not going to be able to go with you and Naruto … Naruto needs our chakra in order to seal Kaguya again when you guys get there. " She shook her head. "I don't understand how are me and Naruto going to be able to do this without you two?"

"Kaguya is coming for us, she can't be too far, just far enough, You need to trick her, I'm going to start preparing everything after I speak with Naruto, but listen to me you need to get Kaguya into the circle and trick her into using her chakra in the point so that she can transport you specifically back to the beginning of Konoha … Kaguya can't die Sakura … you understand don't you, if she dies everyone that has even the smallest amount of chakra will die with her, no matter the timeline, no matter the dimension, she cannot die".

That worried her, wasn't all of this the point to defeat her? "I don't understand if we're not going to kill her then what do you want me to do with her?" He looked at her hard. "Kaguya's chakra will be sealed inside of you".

She was going to become a Jinchūriki … was that even possible at this point? "I'm too old though, nobody has ever had so much chakra sealed in them as an adult …. I might not even be compatible, I don't even descend from her bloodline!"

Obito leveled his gaze on her, "You're more than compatible … Naruto is a Uzumaki sealing jutsu's come naturally to them, he'll be able to do it".

He left her then to pull Naruto away from Sasuke and she watched as Naruto listened carefully. Sasuke blocked her view as he stood straight in front of her. "We don't have much time Sakura". She scrunched her brows together as she took in his body language carefully. He was so taught that it seemed like he was a snake ready to strike at any moment.

"I can't go with you, this is unfortunate it would have been easier … Remember Sakura, women aren't allowed to practice ninjutsu and it was a norm to seal a woman's chakra away, women who use chakra are witches, sorceress, they don't survive long at this point in time … Throw out all of your training from the academy, it's all shit, you cannot be Haruno Sakura, you have to stop being Haruno Sakura, you need to forget your insecurities. If you're going to survive then you need to listen to my words. Haruno Sakura is dead. She died with us … with me". He took a step closer to her and rubbed her shoulders. "And always remember … I'll always be right here when you need me". He tapped her forehead then as he backed away from her and she was once again grabbed by Obito, she was getting real tired of being manhandled but she had no say in the matter at this point.

"Now girl your going to listen to me because right now I'm the only person in the entire world that knows everything about Madara so what your gonna do is this, your gonna save Izuna, but understand that once you change events you split the universe as we know it into two distinct realities. One where we're all dead and the other you'll be in, Madara needs to marry so find him a wife and make sure he has an heir … He needs something to ground him to reality anything if something were to happen to Hashirama and Izuna again do you understand, also keep in mind that Madara is not only the Uchiha Patriarch but also a genius, he doesn't need his Sharingan to destroy an enemy, he's trained to not have to use his chakra and if he does, with his chakra he can go an entire day fighting before he can't fight anymore, he's also equal to you in chakra control … you may even be better which is could help you.. if anything use your medical ninjutsu, medics haven't come into play in his time, they won't for a few decades, it should give you a one-up". She understood, but she wasn't sure she was going to be able to, thankfully she had Naruto, he'd help her.

"We need to hurry, there's not gonna be much more time before she gets here". She looked over to Naruto and Sasuke and they nodded understanding what they all needed to do. "Sakura-chan, you got this" Naruto gave her his strength and she was thankful because she wasn't sure how she could do this on her own.

A kunai was slipped into her hands then and she shuddered at the feel of it as she looked too Obit at some point he had slit his palm and had been encasing them in a giant circular seal, five circles, with a small seal in the middle, the one she needed to get Kaguya inside of.

"Sakura" Narutos scared voice pulled her away and she saw that he couldn't look away from the kunai in his hand. She couldn't hurt Sasuke, there was no way she could ever … Naruto though he had to do it and he knew he had too because she would shatter and never come back from that … he might not either is what was worrying her more. "Focus girl". Obito captured her attention and he forced her hand onto the kunai and placed it right above his heart. "Focus, Sakura, you need to stay focused for all of this".

It was the first time he'd called her by her name and she knew then that this was happening, that she had to do this, really do this, go back in time and fix everything.

It took all her will to do the exact thing that she'd learned to undo, hurt someone, kill them, she knew she could do it, knew how too, knew what would make it hurt, make it fast, make it slow, make it painless. The thought of hurting someone though when she had been trained to heal, to save. It was so hard for her, but not for Obito, he was ready for this, he was determined to fix his wrongs.

The blade went in smoothly and she resisted the urge to heal him, with all her might she allowed her chakra to scream and cry at the sight before her, and quickly she reached inside his chest and pulled out the only thing that was keeping him alive.

It was heavy in her hands, his heart red like the moon. She could feel the chakra inside of it, straining to stay alive somehow. Her chakra reached out towards the remaining chakra inside and glued itself to it. Although, it felt all too consuming, powerful and pure, the chakra inside the heart was warm and glowed like nothing she had seen or felt before.

"Sakura". The spell broke and she came to herself as she felt the electricity buzzing all around them and the thickness in the air. Kaguya was here.

"Sakura hurry!" She ran towards him with the heart, he needed the chakra so he could seal Kaguya's chakra inside her.

The heart glowed bright like the sun as she forced the chakra out of the heart and into Narutos body. She watched him squirm as she forced it inside him and she tried her best not to let the feeling, the awful feeling that filtered through her body as she forced Obito's chakra off her own, she tried everything in her to keep it from effecting her as well.

The dimension opened then and she watched with bated breath as Kaguya came up on them. "Sakura get in the circle!" She realized that the Alien Goddess, the Mother of All had stopped in front of her and watched her carefully. Her face void of anything but hate.

"You have their chakra! My precious chakra!" She seethed but she didn't make a move, why didn't she move against them? Did she realize what they were up to?

She stepped back carefully, hoping the other woman wouldn't take notice but she did and she watched her with those eerie eyes of her, that third eye so shocking alien, nothing about the woman looked human and she finally understood why the families she created were so beautiful to them all. So celestial.

"You think you can steal from me and get away with it!" Sakura ran fast towards the point and she forced herself to flare her chakra up just to get the woman to flare hers.

It worked to because as she skidded to the opposite side of Naruto in the circles Kaguya had stopped right in the middle to separate them and she flooded the room with her chakra.

The light was bright and it felt like she had been burned by the sun, and she realized she was falling.

Her body turned and she noticed that Naruto was up above her falling along with her and above him was the sky, dark and clear with stars shining upon them. He was yelling as he reached for her and she reached for his open arms. "Sakura!" "Naruto!" They held each other as they prepared for the impact, and they impacted hard against stone, Naruto took the brought of the fall as he had switched them at last second so she wouldn't get hurt.

Her senses were on high alert and she was quick as she got up from the floor, Naruto took a small second to get his bearings together and she helped him out of the crater they had made. "Where is she?" She looked around and saw another crater not far from their own and realized that Kaguya had been knocked unconscious. They jumped in the crater carefully. Naruto looked over to her as he whispered careful not to wake the sleeping alien. "How long do you think we have?" A groan escaped her and she turned wide eye at Naruto as he started forming seals. "Naruto we need do this now!" He nodded and she went closer to the alien woman.

"Sakura lay down over here" Naruto patted the side next to him, using his body to separate her and Kaguya. Sakura's body shook from fear and chakra exhaustion, her muscles weak she plopped down and laid her body down. She undid her vest then and she looked over and Naruto whom was staring at her head, not truly looking at her. This would be the first time that anyone besides her had seen her without her complete uniform on. So much had happened and in this single second she couldn't believe that she was feeling so insecure about her body still. She had thrown herself onto a scythe to protect him and Sasuke from Madara and yet here she was.

She threw herself onto a scythe for Naruto and Sasuke … She could show some skin in this moment.

Quickly she moved her shirt over her head and placed it behind her, Naruto was still not looking at her and she laid down. Her bindings seeming more tight on her than ever before and she could feel her stomach clench as Naruto didn't look at her. His hand hovered above her tummy and she grabbed his hand, his head finally turned towards her. His eyes wide and fearful.

He was scared.

She placed his hand upon her belly and didn't let go of his, intertwining their fingers she took in a deep breath. "Don't be scared Naruto, I trust you".

Naruto looked on the verge of crying. "What if I hurt you?" She shook her head. "You won't". He nodded his head and he turned away from her. On the other side of Naruto, she could hear as he used his other hand and began to tear at the clothing Kaguya was wearing. Naruto let go of her hand then to turn his complete attention towards Kaguya as she heard the groan escape the other woman. "Shit, she's waking up". Her eyes were wide then. "Hurry Naruto". He turned back towards her and grasped her hand in his again, their fingers lacing together again and he was crying again as he placed his hand on his stomach. "Ne Sakura this is rather ironic, a Jinchūriki creating a Jinchūriki huh".

"It really is". She took in a deep breath as she felt the cooling chakra begin to invade her system. The more he began to push into her though the more it started to hurt. The more he pushed into her and the harder it was to find sense in that moment. She'd never felt anything like that chakra before. It was delicious, it was pure, it was strong, filled with love, with hate, with power.

Narutos hand pressed harder and suddenly she felt hands on her ankles, she could barely see through the cloud of chakra that was filling her system. It wasn't all she could feel though, as if she'd become part of the world, she could feel the stone, the soil, the air, the wind, the sky. She could feel Naruto and everything that was inside him, the fear, the love, she could feel Kaguya and all her fear all her hate, her ... _love_. She could feel the humans all around the surrounding area and she took in a deep breath as she felt them and all their emotions.

It ended as soon as it began and she took in deep breaths as Naruto smoothed back her hair. "It's okay Sakura, it's all over now". He leaned against the walls of the crater and she breathed out deeply.

Something wasn't right though, she could feel it deep in the depths of her soul she knew something wasn't right and her stomach clenched hard as a stabbing pain shot across her stomach. "Oh god!" "Sakura!" Naruto was there to cradle her against him and the pain only got worse and Naruto began to cry. "I'm so sorry Sakura". The pain in his voice almost broke her.

"I'm sorry Sakura". There was something else that scared her though, she could feel it, in that moment as she clenched in pain she could feel Naruto's life beginning to slip away. "Naruto you're dying!" Through all the pain she moved out of his grasp and placed her hand over his chest.

She tried to tap into her chakra but something wasn't right. Naruto grasped her hand in his. "Sakura it's okay" She choked on a sob as she felt the tears begin to fall. "I'm sorry Sakura, I wish I could stay with you but using the Hakke no Fūin Shiki and then having to do Tensei Ninjutsu on top … My chakra is gone now. It's okay though, it was worth it".

A reincarnation jutsu … On a woman she looked down at her belly as it continued to contract in pain she understood now. "Naruto why!" He leaned his head on her shoulder. "I'm not supposed to be here with you Sakura, everything … all of this it was to get you here, to seal her chakra in you so you could make sure that no one would try to bring her back, she can't hurt you if she's not whole". His voice was getting smaller and lower and she could feel his heart beginning to stutter under her hands and the sky began to roll with thunder and wind. Sobs began racking her body as she held him to her. "Naruto, Naruto stay awake! I need you to stay awake!"

"Sakura … I I couldn't con .. con" She scrambled as she felt his heart stop under her hand and she tried to force the chakra to come up. It wasn't working and she knew it was because of what he'd done, her chakra wouldn't work like it was supposed to for a few weeks.

There wasn't anything she could do to save him, to bring him back like she wanted to and she held him as she cried, she was all alone now.

Looking over to the other side of Naruto she saw that there was nothing left of Kaguya but her robes. Grabbing the thick robe she wrapped it around Naruto and her just as she felt the rain beginning to fall upon them.

She needed to shield him, she needed to protect him from everything just as he had her.

Locking herself under his arms and wrapping her own around his body hiding beneath the cloak she waited there, holding the only person in this old world that loved her.

It wasn't when the rain stopped or when her body begged for sustenance or when she starved for water that made her come out of her hiding place underneath the heavy cloak, it wasn't even Naruto's decaying body or the stench that forced her out. It was the moment they came that she was forced out, when they'd tried to take him away from her.

She'd killed the ones that touched Naruto, those that tried to take him away from her. The others ran away from her and it was in that moment that she broke down crying and screaming at the sight of Naruto. His beautiful face had turned grey and rot, it had began to stink days ago and in the light of the day she couldn't avoid the truth. He was dead and he wasn't coming back to her.

They'd left her all alone … and this time was final.

It was ironic that she'd find to have been dropped in the ruins of a temple. The irony was that people used to flock to temples in order to be saved and yet here she was burying Narutos body in a small dead garden in a little alcove on the side of the temple.

She set up her camp right next to his grave, too afraid to really leave him, to afraid of what could happen if she left him. Would they try to take his body again?

The days turned to weeks and weeks to months and along with it, her virginal body had turned against her and she found with the time her belly rounding with a child not of her own making.

Eventually she'd come down from the temple, quietly discreetly. At first she watched with bated breath in the shadows as people lived in the small civilian village, unknowing to them what had just occurred. She used her training to steal the food she needed, the clothes she needed as she watched them.

Listening to them gossip about the crying woman that fell from the sky and inhabited the haunted temple, because of course she'd get dropped in a haunted temple. They continued to gossip about spotting her wander the grounds of the temple and they gossiped about her belly.

In those moments she would look down at her swollen belly and wonder why her. ... In those moments she would breakdown again not clear of why she was the one that had to go through with all this on her own. So she would lock herself away for hours and days in the temple, crying and begging to someone to hear her, to kill her and the monster inside her. Starving herself, hoping it would kill it. A coward she'd become unable to actually take the kunai and do the job herself.

In the temple through all her screams and tears as she slipped further from herself she'd hear them. Her people calling her, begging her to eat, begging her too except, to be strong.

A state of self-pity and remorse for how she was acting she would go back down the mountain the temple sat on and continued her recon and search for food.

Slowly information necessary to her would come through. She'd somehow gotten dropped in Shimo no Kuni thousands of miles and even an ocean from Kaminari no Kuni. The frozen continent didn't have any shinobi to call its own and it made the civilians all the more weary of strangers, of her.

The clans in the shinobi world were still fighting though and most of all Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma were still very much alive and still very much fighting. In her current state she wouldn't be able to do anything about them though, she'd just have to wait until it was time.

So she continued to steal food and clothing, collecting what she could for herself. It was rather easy especially considering that it was a civilian village and in these times civilians weren't trained unless they came from a shinobi clan. The chances were in her favor for the most part.

It was the day after she figured out what year she had been dropped into did she feel it a sharp cramp all across her stomach and she knew then it was time. She'd helped enough expecting mothers deliver their children in her original time to know the signs.

She screamed to whomever would listen as her water broke and the contractions began to get closer together and harsher. Completely alone in this world and about to bring a child into it without any guidance whatsoever she cried harder as she screamed in pain.

Crawling backwards on her bed, she sat up against the headboard and attempted to use her chakra to create a clone to help her. Nothing happened and she knew how silly it had been to even attempt it. Women couldn't control their chakra properly during childbirth, the hormones and contractions, the child and their own chakra caused a sort of … clotting, that made chakra use unpredictable.

Now she had Kaguya's chakra inside her too and it was very unpredictable, very unstable.

Taking in a deep breath she tried once more to create a clone, she didn't need it to last long, just a few seconds. She reached down to the very depth of her core and called on her chakra, it was Kaguya's chakra that answered her. The powerful chakra came out full force and she opened her eyes to find a clone doing her bidding as it moved a mirror to the foot of the bed before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. The contractions wracked her body hard and with how close in conjunction they were she knew it was time, she focused hard on the mirror as she looked her body over as she tore the pants she had stolen not long ago off of her and took in another breath as she tossed the garments away from her. Another contraction and she knew she needed to see if she was ready they were so close together now that she needed she couldn't handle the pain anymore. It didn't matter though, the child didn't care if she was ready or not, a more painful pinch in her body happened and she widened her eyes at the realization not understanding but knowing her hymen had been broken. With the next set of contractions she could literally see and feel the child begin to slid out of her.

Letting the natural course of things take their reign she began to push with each contraction that came and soon enough she felt her womb empty completely and her body felt tired and strained and she heard a child cry. Grabbing the kunai she kept hidden under the pillow she reached carefully around her body and felt for the umbilical cord.

Severing the connection between them she stumbled over as she went to grab for the child. Screaming as she saw the child that had come from her, the dark tuft of hair, the eyes … Was this a nightmare? Scrambling back towards the head of the makeshift bed she crawled into her own mind again terrified at what had come out of her, terrified of what it could mean.

Those beautiful large eyes and that silk hair, it didn't belong on a monster, she stole their innocents and she would not allow her to parade such a victory around. So she didn't touch the monster, stayed as far away from it as her body could get on the ratty bed. Her stomach churned in a lecherous way and she turned her head just quick enough to miss the bed as she threw-up what little was in her stomach. Leaning her head against the wall she began to cry just as the child did.

What was she supposed to do? Looking over to the garden where Naruto was buried she watched as his jacket swayed in the slight breeze. The ice on the metal of the jacket seemed to reflect her sole and she knew then what needed to happen.

Kaguya could never come back, not through her chakra and not in body. Her tears felt like acid as it fell against her heated skin. Grabbing the kunai she took in a deep breath again as she reached into herself for the courage.

That chakra seemed to grab onto her then and she could feel her body healing, her energy coming back to her. Like a babe herself she felt … _alive_.

As the minutes passed by them, the child'd cries slowed down, by the time an hour passed the child had stopped crying all together.

Crawling towards the child with the kunai in her hands she held it up, she knew what she needed to do. The babes blue eyes gleamed with innocence and love though and the blade comedown and she screamed.

So did the child, and with their faces mere inches from each other she realized that this is not what Naruto would have done. The child's stomach moved rapidly as they continued to cry and she looked away.

Naruto always believed in second chances, that anyone could be saved from the darkness. Standing up from the bed she moved across the room to the wash area and grabbed a towel to clean herself up before placing a dress on.

Nine months and she'd lost so much time, she could have been gaining important information but she had the child and she'd been stuck on the frozen island.

Looking back to the child who was still crying she went back to the washroom and grabbed the towel again, she summoned a small amount of chakra and squeaked as instead the top of the water caught on fire, looking around the washroom she found that an icicle had developed on a small portion of a flower and dropped it into the water to cool it down dropping the towel in with it before twisting out the water from the towel and walked back to the babe to clean her with one hand while the other searched for another blanket, and wrapped it around the child, the small girl ceased her crying as the warm material touched her skin and looked up at her.

There was no way she could take her with her, the journey she was about to take would be a dangerous one. The fighting and the hate that she would no doubt discover could even cause the child to remember her past life and they didn't need that. Leaving her with the only option to leave her there in the civilian village. It broke her heart as she tried to remain strong, thinking about the hardships Naruto went through as an orphan … being a Jinchūriki didn't make it any easier either.

There was no way of turning things around … people were curious about her, she'd heard them call her many things, a ghost, a demon, a witch … a god. What would they think of the girl … It scared her but there were no other options.

Using the kunai she cut the sheets she'd been using and made a sling to hold the girl in. Looking around for a thicker coat she saw the rob that belonged to Kaguya and shook her head as she looked back towards the child. The girl could never know anything about her past.

With a suddenness she grabbed the coat that engulfed them both in warmth. The girl was hidden and protected perfectly underneath the coat. A sort of fullness impregnated her at the sight of the babe tucked comfily against her bosom.

Those big blue eyes looked up at her then, haunting her and she remembered why the girl couldn't be near her, the torture the little babe filled her with at the same time with those gem colored eyes.

The path down the mountain was difficult in the harsh wind, it bit at her skin and she knew that even if the child was warm right now, she wouldn't last that long in the cold temperatures. Shimo no Kuni was no place a child should be caught outside.

Retreating back into her mind she wondered how she was going to get back to Hi no Kuni from there. Remembering her lessons from school she realized that ancient geography was nowhere in the classes. She'd have to hope that there was still a boat that crossed the Aisu Bay, hopefully from there she'd be able to land in Tetsu no Kuni get supplies if not she'd have to stock up on supplies in Sora-ku. The child gurgled underneath the cloak and she stopped and adjusted the sling once before continuing.

She needed money though and there was no way she could use her chakra around civilians, she remembered the stories about how many of them hated shinobi during this time.

… There was also the Ninso. … In her time the Hingan-ji was very much still active, it would be in this time too. The Ninso were not shinobi and she knew that they had ways to tell when someone was truly confessing. They could help her, if they were willing. Ninso weren't fans of Shinobi but they were brothers in arms just like the Samurai, they were all connected through chakra.

She stopped in her tracks as she looked over the houses in the sleepy village. There were many families that could care for the girl, but she needed a family that was willing to protect and love her in ever possible way. Continuing on she looked over the house the only light to see coming off the moon.

There tucked in the corner was a small house that belonged to a bookkeeper and his wife, they hardly ever came out of their home now after the tragedy that had befallen them. She'd heard the others call them cursed.

A cursed child for a cursed family, seemed like a right match in her mind.

Knocking softly on the door, she pulled the child out of the sling and shielded her face from the rigid weather. The door made a screech as it opened, giving a more ominous feeling to the situation at hand she sucked in her breath and held her heart at bay. The man only opened it just enough to look out the crack of the door and she leveled him with her own stare.

"Who is it". He opened the door fully revealing his tall from, he was and older man, somewhere in his forties possibly with inky black hair that was balding and a matching full beard, his brown eyes were large as recognition dawned on him. "It's you!" She looked around the small area hoping nobody had heard anything. "Tachibana-san" He stuttered softly at the realization that she knew his name and instead showed him the child in her arms.

He looked frozen in that moment and she knew she needed to explain. "She needs a home, I cannot care for her". She held the girl out for him and he was hesitant until he took the babe from her carefully. "She's so beautiful".

Yes she definitely was, even through reincarnation the mother of chakra was able to keep her alien beauty. Rather unfair if she said so herself.

"You can never let her know where she comes from, I don't exist and you and your wife are her parents … do you understand me?"

The man nodded his head. "Of course … my wife will be so happy, the gods! You have blessed us!" She ignored his comment and she kept her eyes level on him, hoping he was intimidated by here. "Remember she can never know". Everything everyone had fought for, everyone had died for, all of this would be in vain if Kaguya ever remembered. She turned away then and she could hear the child begin to gurgle away.

She may not have wanted the girl, but her body had become attached to the child she had held and grew for the last nine months. She sucked in a breath and kept walking even after she heard the child begin to screech and the door shut. There was no way she could keep her, it wasn't an option.

Wrapping the thick cloak tightly around her she continued on her march, she tried to remember everything in her geography lessons. She needed to find the Ninso, they would help her.

* * *

Reviews are welcome.

Translations:

Hakke no Fui Shiki - Eight Trigrams Sealing Style

Tensei Ninjutsu - Life Transfer Techniques or Reincarnation Ninja Techniques

Shimo no Kuni - Land of Frost

Kaminari no Kuni - Land of Lightening

Hi no Kuni - Land of Fire

Tetsu no Kuni - Land of Iron

Sora-Ku - Sky Ward

Ninso - Ninja Monk

_\- Aethi_


	2. Chapter II : Parasitic

Authors Note

This story has been adopted from the wonderful Forever Gypsy.

All characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

**Chapter **

**II**

_**Parasitic**_

* * *

_... Two Years Later ..._

Uchiha Tajima was dead, that was the only thing he could think of as he looked over the casket that contained his fathers body. The now deceased Uchiha Patriarch was neither the winner nor the loser, he was defeated by the great Senju Butsuma and yet his father had defeated the Senju as well. The Respective clan had ceased they're fighting in the midst of it all to mourn the loss of their own clan Chief. The fighting had stopped, but he knew that after the mourning, the anger and hate would resurrect itself once more and they would once again be knee-deep in blood and bodies.

Looking out the window he noted how the grey skies continued to mourn for the dead. So much like two years ago. He wondered, did the skies cry for their humanity, their souls? If the sun never rose again would everyone continue to cease fighting in order to contemplate the way of life?

He felt him before he saw him, his younger brother, his own child in a sort, walked into the temple carefully. "Nii-chan" He couldn't let him see his emotions, he was the Uchiha Patriarch now and he needed to keep the image that his own father had died with. He needed to be strong. "What is it Izuna". He didn't need to use any sort of honorific anymore he was the Chief, but Izuna did need to realize that.

He could feel the way his brothers body went straight as he realized that he didn't respond in the way he would usually have. "Sorry to disturb you _Madara-sama_, I thought you might like to know that the new bounties have been released".

He turned then to see Izuna holding up the stack of scrolls in his arms and he sighed as he softened at the sight. Izuna was always so eager to please him and his father, it was heartwarming in a way.

As he took them though he looked down at them in disgust, was this the way of life now? They were Uchiha and yet here they were constantly floundering around tracking down bounties to uphold their name and put food on the table. They were descended from kings and yet here they were ... it was pitiful.

Izuna's bitterness rolled off him in waves and he ignored it, he was in no state to deal with his brothers problems, now he had to deal with the entire clan's problems. "I take it we'll be sending men off further outside of Hi no Kuni" He unrolled one of the scrolls in his hands as he began to walk out of the temple.

There was no time to mourn when you were Chief, there was too much to do, too much to handle. It was in this realization that he understood why his father had been so hard on him and Izuna for so long, he had been preparing them for this day.

Looking over the scroll he sighed as he noted the usual names at the top of the list, their bounties even higher than the last time the bounties had been released. That was great, he'd have to put the men on high alert, people were desperate in these times for money that they were willing to go on such a daring task and go after an Uchiha or Senju.

If he were a lesser man he would take the opportunity and take on the bounty of a Senju, the amount of money that they were worth would set them up for a year. He wasn't a lesser man though, no, it was disrespectful to kill someone you'd been fighting for centuries for monetary value. In this he knew he and Hashirama were allied together in. Izuna's next words though had him looking through the scroll in curiosity. "The Kaguya Clan have been taken off the list". When the name didn't appear anywhere on the list he was surprised to find that someone had indeed defeated the mysterious white-haired clan from Mizo no Kuni. The interesting part of it all though was that in their place was instead a different name, he'd never seen it there before.

The Hōrō-sha.

His brows scrunched together as he looked over the description. Mainly a taijutsu user, no known Kekkei Genkai, but it was the physical discription as small as the information was it was not intimidating enough to be given such a spot on the bounties. Standing at only five foot four with no facial description, no known clan marking and only a cloak it questioned what they had done to be given such a spot. The last known locations were scattered at best if you didn't really look close enough, but he knew better, they were coming to Hi no Kuni, and they'd be there very soon if they hadn't already gotten there. "Tell me what have we heard about this Shinobi" He handed the scroll to his brother who looked it over as they continued their way through the compound.

Izuna didn't say anything and he wondered what was going though his head. "Izuna" His younger brother snapped back to attention. "There are rumors that he can take on an entire army on his own without even getting a single scratch on him ... They also say he's a ghost, one minute he's there then he's not. By the time they've realized he was there he's already gone to another place".

Great a mystery, he really didn't care for those kinds of shinobi, usually when faced with him, they disappointed him with their weakness, it was always so disappointing. Still though they were worth as much as someone from one of the main clans. The Hōrō-sha was one of the privileged there was no way he would go after them for the money, no only if they weren't up to his standards.

"If we take this route we can grab him before the Senju realize we've crossed into their territory" He stopped walking as he realized what his brother was saying. He turned to him. "We're not going after him, besides we don't know if the Senju will be wanting to take the bounty as well, by trying to grab the Hōrō-sha we are risking a fight with the Senju" Izuna looked angry right then and he knew that now that things had changed Izuna would have to adjust to the new regime, but Izuna was still young he would rather learn the hard way.

"Madara with a bounty like this we could be set up till spring". He remembered the first time he had talked back to his father and the resulting beating he'd gotten for it. He wasn't his father though and he wasn't about to beat Izuna for merely speaking his mind. "Let it be Izuna, we just lost our father and the others to the last fight with the Senju and we are losing more men with each fight than are women can bare us. Sometimes, sometimes there are reasons why someone is wanted besides having a Kekki Genkai and right now I will not allow any of our kinsmen to be put in any unnecessary danger, do you understand me?" Izuna glowered at him and he knew that he didn't make the choice his younger brother had approved of. "I understand perfectly Madara-sama".

There was a darkness in his brother's eyes and he worried, he knew that Izuna had always wanted to prove his worth to his father, especially since he was the second heir and even Madara had to admit that his brother had never truly developed in his trainings as he should have and perhaps that his was because of him and his father. Both of them always so busy with their own pursuits, to busy for Izuna.

The look in Izuna's eyes worried him more then anything before, yes they were part of a clan, but in the end it was just the two of them now and they had to take care of each other. Izuna wasn't listening to him, such a sad realization to, as he was without a natural born heir, Izuna was his heir. If Izuna decided to go against him he'd be left with no choice but to have him followed and watched until he came to realize that he was only looking out for him.

He was briefly reminded of his father just then and realized that perhaps his predecessor had believed that he too was looking out for his heirs best interest. He remembered a time when he was much younger than Izuna was now and how his father had him followed when he'd first started sneaking off to cavort with Senju Hashirama. Such a realization agitated him to no end and he couldn't believe he'd come to thinking the same way his father did when it came to his heir.

It was best to let the matter rest. "Was there anything else Izuna?"

The younger man looked hesitant just then and he knew that whatever it was, was surely going to give him a headache. "Izuna". He commanded his younger brother to speak up, there was nothing that he couldn't speak about with him. Izuna looked down at his feet a small blush forming across his cheeks as he spoke. "The elders questioned me about you marrying and having heirs earlier. They want you to start looking at potential matches".

Ah, now he understood, his brother had yet to take a woman himself and he himself was unabashedly open about his sexuality, something Izuna had learned for himself since they'd once shared a room together. It was the one innocent thing left his brother still carried with him and he was rather proud to know that.

He shouldn't have been surprised though about the elders, his fathers body hadn't even been buried yet and already they were swarming their desires onto him. Rolling his eyes he knew that he'd have to be careful with the women he bedded now. His father had warned him about the schemes the Elders had pulled to gain the heirs of his family. He himself had been conceived through such scheming as his father had been no older than fifteen when the former Matriarchs handmaidens had forgotten to let them know they had run out of persimmon and dong quai. The end result was his thirteen year old mother nearly dying in childbirth and almost taking him with her. On the upside of it all, his father had never allowed the elders to pressure them into arranged marriages like he and his grandfather had been forced into.

It was unfortunate for the elders though that he was not one to be bullied into doing anything, especially having a child for the clan when he himself felt it wasn't the right time yet. The world was still so dark and dangerous, there was too much fighting still, he was too busy protecting himself and Izuna alongside the clan, having a child of his own, having to put a defenseless child into the mix was too much even for him. Especially since his father hadn't even crossed into the Senju territory when he'd been attacked and defeated on his own lands. While he knew that Hashirama was not one for attacking anyone without just cause, it was the younger brother he worried about, Senju Tobirama was very much a product of his fathers beliefs and followed them very closely to the heart. The red-eyed demon son had always put a bad taste in his mouth and he was not about to put any child of his in that demons sight.

"Madara"? He looked back to his brother ignoring the fact that he hadn't used the proper honorific. "Ignore them". It was the only thing they could do at the moment. Izuna shook his head though and they slipped into his private rooms. "Brother, you're three years from being thirty and you now that your Chief it's expected that you marry and give the clan an heir. You know the elders will do whatever they have to in oder to attain their heir or replace you as Chief. ... Especially with Oji-san behind the helm". He sat down on his desk with Izuna taking the seat across from him. "Ignore them Izuna, Hachiro can campaign against us just as much as he did with father, I may not have a natural born heir but I do have you and besides we'd both have die without either of us producing an heir, and trust me when I say that most of the elders will push out all clan rules to make sure that no matter if me and you were to produce bastard children with civilian whores they will make sure that child would become Chief before they chose Hachiro." Some people even if they were natural born heirs were simply not meant to be heirs and his uncle was one of those people. "Besides I'll not allow you to cross into the Pure Land without feeling the warmth of a woman". Izuna only got redder at his words, he was so innocent that it was almost unbelievable.

A part of him wondered it was an odd thing to believe how innocent Izuna was. At twenty-four years old his younger brother was still a virgin. Izuna wasn't ugly, a pure-blooded Uchiha through and through he was gifted with good looks and the women of the clan as well as outside the clan had expressed this numerous times. He doubted he wasn't capable of either, it was a biological instinct to copulate. Izuna though didn't seem interested in men or women or anything outside that didn't concern fighting. It was terrifying to think that any negative feeling Izuna has ever had, had been bottled up and left to simmer inside him. That wasn't good, everyone needed an outlet and sex as he'd found personally turned out to be an amazing outlet for his stress and anger, if Izuna wasn't letting out all that negativity he worried that it would drive the younger man to a breaking point. There should be no reason to break when there was healthy ways to release everything they carried around. Yet here was Izuna, refusing to do anything about it and driving himself further into the darkness.

Izuna couldn't fall though, if Izuna succumbed to the darkness his death would be inevitable and Madara knew he wouldn't be able to handle losing his brother. Izuna wasn't just his brother, he was his child, he had basically raised Izuna as their father had always been too busy trying to defeat the Senju. The only time their father had ever made time for them was when he was beating them when they had messed up in their fathers eyes. Uchiha Tajima was not a father to them, merely their Cheif and only that, it left Madara having to care for his younger brothers and three of them had fallen in battle against the Senju he had become more and more paranoid and over protected about Izuna. Sometimes he felt like he was mothering him more than anything but he couldn't help it.

His younger brother cleared his throat and he knew that he had made him uncomfortable with the topic as he decided to change it. "Madara I do believe that it would be a good idea at least to take a wife .. It would placate the elders knowing that you're doing your job as the Patriarch" He scoffed. "Marrying someone would only fuel they're want for an heir, just ignore the elders Izuna or better idea, avoid them altogether". Marrying a woman would definitely make the elders worse. Even if he married though he didn't want to make his wife hate him for forcing her into drinking the crimson tea, he didn't want a child right now, it wasn't the right time and forcing someone he was married too, to do that would surely make her hate him.

"Be careful with the women you bed than brother, one of the servant girls informed me just recently that it would seem the Eunuchs have run out of Dong Quai, a very important ingredient as you know".

He knew only to well, the bastards, they were trying to force him to have a child just as they had his father and grandfather. On the bright side though, the servants were so loyal to the heirs that they made sure nothing went against their wishes. Many of the older servants that had helped raise him had learned early on that he hadn't wanted children and still has expressed such loudly, and surprisingly it was the servants that respected his wishes then his own kinsmen. "Make sure that the servant girl is well compensated for her hard work Izuna, can't have our little birds thinking we don't appreciate their loyalty to us". Izuna nodded his head.

Still though, he needed to remind the Elders that he was the Patriarch and that they could not bully him or trick him into doing what they wanted him to do, he was not their puppet.

Maybe a good sparring session with one of the younger elders would do the job. "Izuna do me a favor and gather the elders, I'd like to have them join us for our sparring session today". Izuna smirked at him knowing what he had planned. "Of course Madara-sama".

He looked over at his desk and noticed that a drawing of his was out of its usual spot and he knew that Izuna had been looking through his things again. He unrolled the drawing and looked it over, his heart warming at the sight of the child he had dreamt of once upon a time ago.

"I'm sorry Madara ... sama, I had been looking for a scroll regarding father's last words". He nodded his head as he stared at the beautiful child. So ethereal in looks that even the drawing couldn't touch at what he had dreamt about.

"... Madara?" "Yes Izuna?" "Why have you give up on finding the woman to bear your dreams?" He closed his eyes as he remembered nearly three years ago when he and Izuna had watched the meteor shower cross their skies and that night he had dreamt of the beautiful child with raven colored hair, his complexion and jade eyes that reflected the universe like nothing he had ever seen and they shined with happiness and love as she had ran towards him flinging her small body at him with a smile that could tear apart even the most barbaric armies.

He'd searched as far as he could to look for a woman with those eyes and when nothing came up he'd given up because he realized it was merely a dream. "She doesn't exist".

Izuna must have noticed that the conversation was displeasing him because he changed the topic once more as he turned over the bounties. "Pick one". He looked them over quickly as his eyes landed on an easy catch, not the best but it was further away from the Senju and it would bring in enough money to get them through till the end of summer. "That one will be sufficient for now". "Of course I'll get a team dispatched right away". He nodded his head as he continued to stare at the picture of the little girl he'd dreamt about so long ago.

A child so beautiful and happy he could only hope that the future was as bright as the world she seemed to live in.

* * *

Jumping onto the forest grounds, Sakura looked around herself, the hairs on the back of her nape were standing on high alert and her stomach clenched uneasily. She was tense but she forced herself to keep running. It was rather interesting to note, she had been running for a little close to a year now, completely deviating from her original course and it pissed her off to no ends. She was sent from the future to save it yet here she was in the past attempting to dismantle any enemies from future Konoha before they became enemies with Konoha. Unfortunately for her one of them decided they weren't going to succumb to her design just as the others had.

Of course though, as she had been apprentice to the Godaime Hokage she had been given access to sensitive material and one thing that nobody had ever truly explained in the acadamy or even outside was how Hashirama Senju died. Curiosity was a dangerous thing to have and as she had been fascinated to find that the Shodai Hokage had died from a very rare and in the future extinct poison that attacked the white blood cells in his body. In the time of his death the village had been attacked by Encephalitis without his white blood cells he was unable to fend off the disease as he should have since it attacked his chakra system first before causing swelling in the brain and killing him.

The files had stated that this is what had caused the Shodaime death. Rather interesting to note that the Elders of the village were to paranoid to allow the information be known to the public.

What fascinated her though since she'd come to this time was that the while the Shodai lived longer than any Shinobi of his time, excluding Uchiha Madara; especially considering he died twice in her reality. Senju Hashirama lived well into his fifties a very interesting feat, but it was the women in the world that caught her attention the most. Considering that women from shinobi clans were not permitted to fight one would think they'd have a longer life expectancy, but it turned out that a very few lived into their mid-twenties.

Even civilian women lived longer than that and it was the curse of being a clan women that caused all of their deaths. As she had been watching the clans in this era, she was disturbed to find the single most important thing that the clans women lacked the most. Women's health and networking. The clans treated women as little more than cattle, their bodies only there for the clan to produce more soldiers, civilian women at least had a little more freedom in their lives as they were allowed to be educated and have jobs but not clans women. Their primary role was to serve the clan and give sons for the clan to use. The damage to their bodies after constantly being forced to procreate and birth.

Clans women were raped and beaten more so than civilians women because of the need for sons for the clan. In this she found that the life expectancy lowered even more to sixteen. Clans women weren't raped, there was no such thing as rape and in this she could only hold her breath and watch as the women took what they did not deserve. The lives of women were reduced to this, die in child-birth or die by the hands of their husbands.

She'd been doing so much in this time that she hoped that the work she'd done so far would help in that, women weren't just cattle their lives were worth just as much as the mens lives. Two years had gone by and all she wished for was that her work would pay off soon, there were too many innocent people dying out there for no reason and it broke her heart.

Spreading her chakra out she realized she had lost her pursuer, she allowed herself to relax. It was unfortunate, there last two years had landed her in some seriously bad situations and trying to assassinate the man that defeated Senju Hashirama was one of those bad situations because now he was chasing after her and not the other way around anymore. It gave her a headache just thinking about how much time she had wasted this past year just trying to shake him off her.

She was glad that he wasn't a chakra fighter, he was not a close combat fighter either, his specialties were poisons and air-borne illnesses which in her time were considered biochemical warfare. In which he was the nameless originator. She needed her chakra though, especially since the the Senju and Uchiha Chiefs had just died, she knew her time was coming very soon and she couldn't lead this man straight to his attended victim.

There was a familiar sound ahead of her and she attempted to see through the trees but she was too far away. The sound though, metal on metal, screams and cries. The smell of blood and sweat, the tears, it all overloaded her senses as she realized what was happening. As she got closer she sucked in a deep breath at the sight. She found herself at the edge of a battle and the sight broke her heart. Children! Children no younger than six were being forced to fight children and grown men! Their little bodies littered the battlefield and many were turning blue right before her. Making sure her mask was on tight she wrapped her cloak even tighter around herself, she was careful as she inched closer towards the battlefield. There was no way she was going to allow anymore of these innocent children to die!

The first two children she grabbed she immediately noticed their clan symbol, Uchiha, the air was knocked out of her as she looked at the bodies lining the battlefield closer and realized who those boys were fighting. It didn't take long for her eyes to land on the four figures that stood out the most. Their bodies and chakra so familiar to her it was hard resisting the urge to help the Senju heirs but she knew as her eyes closed in on the one person she didn't recognize that she her services weren't for the Senju clan right then.

Uchiha Izuna, his brows were thinner his eyes not as feminine, lips much much fuller and his face was just a tad bit thinner as well, but damned it to hell was he a dead-ringer for Sasuke. ... Actually she was sure that it would be Sasuke was a dead-ringer for Izuna ... right? Oh god that was going to fuck with her for a little bit. A bomb went off and she held herself together as she shook her head from her thoughts. This was it, this was the moment she needed to stop from happening.

The babes in her arms began to whimper and she looked down at them knowing she'd have to help them first before anything else. Tobirama and Izuna weren't fighting as of yet and that meant she had time to spare.

Adjusting the children she carried she walked carefully back to the forest with them, hoping that she wasn't doing more damage to their bodies. As she laid them down on the ground she looked over their small bodies as she tore their apart their armor and clothing. There wounds were definitely life-threatening and she knew she had to be quick. She held her emotions in check as her hand nearly dwarfed there stomachs as she began to heal them.

This was utterly ridiculous, children fighting a war they knew nothing about, she hadn't wanted to use her chakra but they were innocent children and she couldn't leave them to die. It wasn't fair to them, none of this was fair and it was all because of a ridiculous blood-feud. The boys eyes were red and glass matching their red cheeks and running noses, their tears just did her in. She wanted blood for them, even if they were a Senju an adult hurting an innocent child was just wrong. What's worse was that it wasn't just adults killing children it was children killing children. They were all just babies.

Her thoughts were broken then as she felt a malevolent presence creep upon her, she stiffened as she was slow in her movements, it wasn't Zetsu, no his chakra would have been very noticeable and it wasn't her stalker, this chakra was strong. Reaching for her katana carefully she kept her eyes on the Uchiha children, focusing, no one would hurt them anymore, she would not allow it.

As quick as the branch that her enemy stepped on she pulled her katana forward and froze at the sight of a matching blade right at her neck, her own just a mere hairsbreath from his abdomen. They both hold their breath and she regarded the person that was willing to hurt these too children only to be struck at the sight of her.

There holding a katana an inch away from her neck was none other than the Nidaime Hokage Senju Tobirama, his red eyes regarded her with such hate that she wasn't sure if she was staring at pure hate itself or a man. Thankfully her own face was hidden from his view and was unable to see her reaction towards this situation. They both watched each other with bated breath and she knew that her next move needed to be made carefully least she lost her head.

There was truly only one way for her to get out of this and she mentally groaned, her want of all anonymity was going to be ruined right then. "Senju" His eyes widened as he took in her voice and she saw him visibly flinch at his new situation. "I'm going to sheath my weapon, I suggest you do the same". She learned quickly that in this time because women had such a short lifespan compared to men that the code of shinobi, a law followed by all did note allow for the death of women in war. They were precious commodity and that couldn't be wasted.

Ever so slowly the grey haired shinobi stepped back from her and she sheathed her katana just as she promised before she reached up to her mask and pulled it off to allow him to verify that she was indeed a woman. "I mean you no harm Tobirama-san". He placed his katana up again and she rolled her eyes, well nobody ever said that women weren't known casualties of war for nothing. "You're an Uchiha!" She realized then that he had seen the children behind her and had noticed their emblem. She took a good look at the Senju then as she regarded him. "I'm no Uchiha, I am merely a healer". She was knew that right now was a very important moment, any little spot of trickery and it wouldn't matter if she was a woman, he thought her an Uchiha and that was dangerous. She placed her hands up in a surrender, knowing that if he saw her hands he'd realize this.

The thing that civilians didn't realize about shinobi was that a good deal of it was all a slid of wrist, a game of follow the lady. She felt the kunai in her hand and when she saw him visibly relax at her surrender she threw it towards him and watched as he turned into smoke.

Of course he wouldn't be here there though, he had after all invented the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, behind the smoke though told another story, there the Nidaime stood with a body hung over his shoulder and another clone of his stood next to him with a man leaning against him for aide. She breathed out angrily, he was probably causing more damage to those men than he knew. Shaking her head she placed her mask back on and signaled for him to get closer to her.

"Place them over there, as soon as I'm finished I'll heal them". Both he and his clone looked skeptically at her and she rolled her eyes glad she had placed her mask back on so he couldn't see it. "How can I be sure you won't kill my men? You whom are helping Uchiha?" She didn't look at him. "Children, I'm helping children, perhaps Tobirama-san you should try it as well". Her words didn't seem to affect him, she figured it wouldn't all he could see was Uchiha and the Senju hated the Uchiha, it was what it was.

She could hear him though as he bristled behind her, placing him men down, it disappointed her though, Senju Tobirama was someone she had once looked upto as a child, not him exactly but his legacy, he had created the academy, the ANBU, the Chunnin Exams as well as the Konoha Police Force ... Although during the war they had all come to realize that he'd created the police force under the guise of appeasing the Uchiha when really it had been to alienate them by forcing them to handle all the dirty parts of Konoha's day to day operations.

She ignored the pang of disappointment that hit her hard at realizing that he was possibly one of the most powerful perpetrators in the war, but nobody would actually say it because he was a Senju and the Senju's were supposed to be good guys. Senju Tobirama was though very prejudice and showered the Uchiha's with discrimination like no other could possibly imagine and from the looks of it, the rest of the village had followed suit and Uchiha Madara had decided to end it all. The matter still stood though the Senju's were the good guys.

The Nidaime left her then and she breathed in a sigh of relief, she didn't have the time to fight with him, she needed her energy and while it was not a waste to save the people that were suffering, it was detracting from her original plan. Continuing her healing she watched as the children groaned and cried in pain and she tried her best to make sure that her work was quick so they wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

One of the boys that she had finished with looked well enough and she watched as he tried to scramble to his feet and she held onto him. "Careful boy, don't hurt yourself". She pulled at her mask again knowing that a friendly face was always a good start. The boy calmed down considerably at the sight of her feminine feature. "Can you walk?" He nodded his head and she looked down at the other boy who looked well enough. She couldn't tell them to run and hide, she knew they were part of a clan and if they returned home without fighting they would be labeled as cowards. "Take you kinsmen here and be very careful, stick to the forest, there's less fighting there and if your Chief leaves, you leave as well understand". He was crying and a part of her heart broke at the sight. "Boy did you hear me?" He nodded his head and she helped him with the other boy as she ushered him to the other side of the forest.

Turning towards the Senju men she set to work, his wounds were nothing compared to the children's wounds and it disgusted her to no end that a fully grown adult could even think of hurting a child. She wasn't going to treat him like the children, he'd survived into adult hood and could take care of himself. Looking around herself she noticed that the Senju that had been left with her looked nothing alike. It was interesting to note that too, Hashirama and Tobirama didn't look like each other, but Izuna and Madara did have similarities, they didn't look alike but they looked like brothers compared to the Senju. She couldn't help but wonder why because ultimately they were all bonded through blood and should look similar to one another in some way.

She could feel him coming back and instead of all that malice and that eerily composed chakra signature she felt a rather quiescent and analytical presence creep upon her, next to one of the other Senju Tobirama placed another one of his clansmen down ad then placed a child right in her view sight. An Uchiha child! She turned her attention towards him for a moment. He didn't look at her but kept his eyes on the boy. "You're correct, he's a child". She didn't comment, didn't need to, she needed to hurry up and get these people patched up.

It was a good thing she couldn't see him at that angle it was too painful to look at him, he was too similar to Kakashi, way to similar, she'd seen Kakashi once without his mask and his resemblance to the Nidaime was uncanny. Now though it only served to remind her of her broken heart and how alone she was in this world.

Her nakama were all gone and dead in this world and the opposite one.

His eyes were watching her every move and she ignored the feeling that crawled on her skin as he squatted down on his hind legs and observed her. "How are you doing that? My Chief has the ability to use his chakra to heal himself but never had I thought it possible to heal another person". She took note that he didn't call Hashirama his brother, he knew she knew his name which would only mean she knew him and that meant she knew whom his brother was, but he didn't call Hashirama his brother, he called him his Chief.

Did he not acknowledge Hashirama as his brother or did he not think she knew that Hashirama was his brother? "Chakra" She cleared her thoughts trying to keep the situation clear. "Is a pure form, it is neither good or evil, it subservient to the will of the user. If you want to kill it will be your blade, if you want to heal it will be your needle ... You and the rest of the world want to use it to destroy one another so it bends itself to your wishes, I use it to save the lives of the people around me, so it bends to my will".

the childs body was littered with stab wounds and she couldn't understand how any adult could do such a thing to a child, they were small and everyone knew it wouldn't take much to kill them, why the overkill? "You say you're not part of a clan so why do you care about a war that has nothing to do with you?" The child's wounds were healed he'd be live to see another day. She'd have to get him to the deeper parts of the forest, he'd lost a lot of blood and was unconscious she couldn't leave him where the Senju could find him.

"If I don't then who will? This war is pointless don't you think? Innocent children are fighting and dying and all this bloodshed, all the tears it doesn't seem to cease when it's all trivial compared to other things. ... When I heal though, it's not pointless it's not a trivial matter, it matters, it makes a difference and it stops the tears of the innocent and gives them one more day".

Tobirama didn't say anything, but she tensed as he stood up from his position, she kept still, these were dangerous time and there was no guarantee that he wouldn't kill her, she had saved the lives of Uchiha and Senju's didn't believe in that. He turned away from her and left and she relaxed as she turned her attention towards the other Senju that had been left in her care and she healed them quickly, there was no need to fully heal their bodies, just enough, they were full grown adults, they didn't need the same care as the children.

A part of her was proud though, she'd awed the Nidaime with her skills, although in her time Medical Ninjutsu wasn't a very sought after skill, especially considering that not long after the naming of the Sandaime Medical Ninjtsu had been declared useless on the battlefield and wasn't necessary to learn. It was until Tsunade took the role of Godaime Hokage was it declared that every genin team would have at least one shinobi trained in the art of Medical Ninjutsu. In this time though she was powerful, nobody had her skills not even the powerful Senju Hashirama could heal anyone other than himself.

Her thoughts were cut short thought as she heard and argument nearby there was no time to daydream this might be the battle where Uchiha Izuna was fatally wounded by Tobirama and she needed to save the Uchiha. Quickly she healed the others grimacing slightly at the half-assed job she did but it was would do well enough, they'd live another day. Grabbing the child from her side took him into the clearing with her knowing the clans would have the women come and collect their fallen and they'd find the boy among the bodies, it was the only solution she had at this point. She couldn't leave him where the Senju men were, they'd hurt him again and that couldn't happen. The boy groaned in her arms and she looked up to find his dark eyes staring at her, but she knew he'd suffered from too much blood loss to really focus on her. She got to the clearing where the battle was raging and pulled her mask to the side as he started to struggle with her. Seeing her feminine features only calmed him a little and she placed him on the ground. "Stay here boy and wait for the other women to collect you all".

She wasn't sure what made this fight all the more different but something in the air, told her and everyone else that this fight was a lot different that all the others, even the four shinobi that were the focal point of the battle seemed to sense it. She could see it in the way they fought, so similar to the way they had fought for the existence of mankind in her reality.

The younger Uchiha was her main focus though, she couldn't stop the fight, there were too many Uchiha and too many Senju if it was just the four she was up against she may have had a shot to stop the fight but not the entirety of the clans. So she needed to wait for the right moment.

Watching as the scene played before her she held her breath as she watched Tobirama and Izuna fight each other, it was nothing like watching Madara and Hashirama but it was chilling no less. Tobirama seemed to be void of all humanity as he fought his foe with cold and calculating red eyes, Izuna's own shined bright hot with a hate that she hadn't seen since the war in her world.

Using their respective elements they created a smoke, a mist sort of screen around themselves, Izuna was fast and lithe as he moved out of the way of a deadly kunai, missing him by mere millimeters. Before she could even blink though Tobirama was on him, his katana ripping through the flesh and organs as if the younger Uchiha, tearing him apart like how her and Ino used to tear petals off a flower. Her heart stuttered at the sight and she forced her self to keep still it was too dangerous still. She knew that Izuna would live long enough to make it back to the Uchiha territory and give Madara his eyes. She had time.

Madara caught his brother before he could even fall to the ground and the sight of his fear, his love all for his brother, she could have never imagined seeing such emotions on him, not after the monster he'd become in her world. She could feel the rage roll off him as he looked over to Tobirama who was stopped in his assault by Hashirama. Her mind trying to comprehend, that was a fatal blow, they all knew it so why would he continue to try to hurt the younger Uchiha? Why so much overkill?

They were trying to depart peacefully she noticed, but Hashirama blocked them and her mind whirled like no other, they all knew he was going to die why prolong the pain and suffering? _"Madara you cannot defeat me". _From normal ears she could hear the arrogance in his tone, but as she listened with keen ears she heard how tired the Senju was of fighting and the concern he had for the Uchiha.

Hashirama extended his hand out in a sign of peace, attempting to persuade Madara to end the fighting with him. Hashirama continued to reach out with his words. _"The conflict will eventually start to die down". _She was usually a sucked for sentimental moments but the medic in here was pissed off, if Madara didn't get out of there, Izuna's wounds could cause internal bleeding if they hadn't already and he could go into shock and his chakra pathways could begin to rot.

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched Izuna whisper something to Madara, that was not in the history books and that had definitely not been revealed during the war, what had he said? Whatever he said though Hashirama couldn't hear it and Madara was looking around them as if the puzzle was beginning to come together.

Madara threw a smoke bomb out of his pockets and she cursed as they disappeared. What definitely hadn't been written in the history books or told in the war was what happened the moment Madara and Izuna disappears, she watched as half of the Uchiha men dropped their weapons and bowed their heads in surrender. She knew that there was only two options for Hashirama and that was either kill them then or take them into his own clan, she didn't have time to figure out what would happen though because she needed to catch up to Madara before Izuna died. _'Fuck'_ She'd have to use her chakra to catch up with them! Quickly she ran towards the forest and towards the direction of where she knew the Uchiha compound was. As she got onto the tree she watched as Madara moved as quickly as possible with Izuna, not as fast as she knew him to be but considering he was basically holding dead-weight she couldn't blame him. Concealing her chakra she kept a safe distance from Madara and Izuna.

She wasn't sure how she was going to do this, the closer they got to the compound the more she stressed. She couldn't heal him in the compound the Uchiha Elders wouldn't let a complete stranger come near the heir apparent even if he was already dying, the sharingan was too important and a pure-blooded Uchiha's sharingan was even more so. Madara she was positive wouldn't let her anywhere near his brother, she saw the look he'd given to Tobirama and knew that he wouldn't chance a stranger getting near his brother in such state.

The Uchiha compound was just through the next trees and she dropped back even further no doubt there would be perimeters around the compound. There was only one option for her though and as she watched Madara drop into the compound she gulped as she heard him scream for help, watching as the guards all pulled back into the compound tightening their security up at the sight of their injured heir.

She was going to have to kidnap Izuna from the Uchiha compound.

The healers came to Izuna's aid and took him from Madara and she quietly moved closer, looking for an opening into the compound from her perch on the branch. Madara's body stiffened and she did as well as she watched him turn towards her location and stared straight at her with his Sharingan bright and spinning. There was no way he knew she was there, her chakra was concealed and Madara wasn't a sensor at all.

Izuna's screams broke through the tension and Madara turned away from her and watched him disappear into the largest house in the compound, no doubt his home. She was careful as she jumped onto the roof of the traditional house, finding an opening in the servants quarters she went through and jumped up and moved the wooden panels and jumped into the ceiling balancing herself as she trudged through following the screams.

When she reached the area where the screams were the loudest she was careful and held her breath as she removed the wooden panel just enough to peak through and see what was going on. Madara was watching as the healers tried to do everything in their power to heal Izuna but as she took in the blood stained sheets and the sweat that covered the heir she knew she needed to do this as quickly as possible. Taking on the physicians wasn't going to be a problem, just by looking at them she knew they were not trained in the shinobi arts, no the problem was Madara, he wouldn't let her go anywhere near Izuna's weakened form, and they'd lose him if they fought, she'd have to lure him away.

Revealing her chakra she watched him tense and turned towards her she made another clone of herself though and slid to where she would be able to get to Izuna quicker. The clone stayed in her spot and she nodded her head at her and she concealed her own chakra so Madara wouldn't notice she was there and watched as her clone dropped from the ceiling and attacked Madara.

He took the bait and threw her clone out of the room and into the garden. She held still and waited, watching as healer slid the shoji screen shut. She slipped out of her hiding spot then and just as fast as they activated their sharingan she activated a sleeping jutsu, watching as they all fell to the floor, her target though had dragged himself out of bed, leaving a trail of blood in his wake as he went to grab his katana from his belongings on the chest.

The hold he had on the Katana was weak and they both knew he was dying, yet he was still fighting to protect himself as he crawled away from her with his katana pointing towards her as he screamed at her. "Whatever you want just take it and leave!" He screamed as another pain shot through him and she watched as the katana fell from his hand and he gripped his stomach in pain screaming. "Madara!" He continued screaming as he curled in on himself and she was careful as she watched him scream his lungs out on pain on the floor of his family home. "Madara!" He grabbed for a kunai then and she took it from him quickly and threw it behind her.

She squatted in front of him and removed her mask. "Madara!" "Please I don't want to hurt you Izuna-san" she grabbed his hands and pulled him into a better sitting position and he screamed and she knew as she took in the wound that he was in a lot of pain. "You're dying, let me fix you" He looked up at her then and she shuddered at the hate and the darkness that filled his eyes, he was cursed. As her chakra invaded his system she felt it, that evil that entwined in his chakra, that darkness, Zetsu, he had gotten too him long before she had thought he would have.

His face was red and heated and she was sure that this was the closest she could get to seeing an Uchiha really cry, it stunned her for a moment as she continued to hear him scream and cry for his brother. "Please! Just leave us!" He was begging her now and he whimpered through the pain. "Please, just please" She wasn't sure if he was begging for her to end his suffering or help him and she sighed as she reached over and with a small amount of chakra in her fingers, he tried pushing her away but he wasn't even strong enough to lift his hands anymore. Her fingers brushed the pressure point on his forehead and watched him slump forward unconsciously, she placed her mask back on, making sure it was secured properly.

He'd lost so much blood his skin was so deathly pale that she shook her head, if she didn't start healing him soon she'd loose him, she looked over the area where the blood was coming from and she knew there was no way she could carry him that wouldn't damage it more.

A loud crash came from outside and she watched with wide eyes as her clone crashed through the fragile shoji screen, scrambling to get up, all she could see though was Madara his red eyes spinning deadly as they landed on her, her heart stopped dead as all those horrible memories of what those eyes were capable of flooded through her mind. The urge to hurt him was so strong that it physically hurt her heart that she couldn't.

He stepped through the torn shoji screen then, red eyes swirling and deadly intent rolling off him in waves. "Get away from him!" This side of Uchiha Madara, this unknown side of him terrified her more than what she could remember, because this Uchiha Madara had someone to live for, someone to protect and that was frightening.

She missed the modern world, she missed music on the radio, dance halls and above all going to movies, she'd learned so many tricks just from watching movies. Madara took another step closer towards her and she watched as her clone dropped the noose around Madara's neck and pulled up, he struggled, snarling angrily at her as her clone pulled the noose and pulled him up.

Taking the opportunity she was quick as she threw Izuna's unconscious form onto her shoulder and stood up, she could feel through her connection to her clone that Madara was going to break the noose soon and so she threw a smoke bomb and ran.

Through her clone she could feel as Madara pulled himself up the rope and used it to pull her clone forward and threw her against the floor, the connection broke and she knew her clone had been destroyed.

Pushing chakra into her legs she pushed herself to go faster but the moment she turned to look behind herself she saw that Madara was gaining on her.

So much for not using her chakra, she rolled her eyes as she made three more clones of herself and Izuna, stopping just long enough to hide behind a large tree, she steadied herself on the branch and reached into Izuna's body with her chakra and connected to his, using her free hand she was quick as she formed the tiger seal and pushed the two of their chakra's through and she held herself perfectly still against the large tree.

If she learned anything after her first Chunnin exams it was that the Meisaigakure no Jutsu was a god send in cases where she needed to give herself a little bit more of an upper hand. While the technique had its flaws, Madara had eyes on her clones and with his judgement impaired with the fear of losing Izuna she doubted that he was really focused like he should be.

Her clone ran past her followed by Madara and she kept herself deathly still as she watched him grab hold of one of her clones, her clone disappeared and he began tearing apart the forest as he screamed. "Izuna!" The anguish, the fear, the love ... it shocked her, she'd seen hate, she'd seen fear, and she's seen love, but this love between these two brothers was something she'd never seen before. Even Itachi's love for Sasuke was nothing compared to Madara's love for Izuna.

Her two other clones flew past them and he took their bait and she waited till she couldn't see or hear him anymore before she jumped from the branch trying to be as careful as possible as she hit the floor of the forest.

Izuna's chakra flickered against hers and she knew that she couldn't keep going anymore, she came upon a quiet river and saw an abandoned tea house next to it, it looked so serene and yet as she looked at the ravaged tea house she knew that the wars between clans had taken its toll on what might have been a quaint area.

She adjusted Izuna once more and she kicked the door, she heard the screws cry against her and she kicked harder once more before the door caved in and fell off its hinges. Walking on top of the door, she looked around the dusty tea house and groaned.

It was so dusty and dirty and not a good area to conduct any sort of healing, but this would have to do. She placed Izuna on the low table.

Gripping his shirt she tore it open and got a good look at the handiwork of Senju Tobirama. It was horrid, infection was beginning to set in and she cursed as she took off her cloak and removed her bag from her back. She'd have to heal the wound and stop the infection at the same time, but that was complicated. She looked around the tea house as she reached into her bag and pulled out the notes.

On the chance that Madara found her, she'd need to hold him off just long enough to do the healing. Going around the structure she placed the notes on the four walls and infused her chakra, the barrier would hold for at least a few hours, just long enough .. hopefully.

Turning back towards the younger Uchiha heir she got on her knees focused herself on healing him, creating another two clones she began cleaning the infection of the wound.

Tobirama was certainly out to kill the Uchiha men, the cut was not clean at all, his organs and skin were shredded, she wasn't sure how he was still alive at this point, but he his heart was still beating, it was weak, but it was beating and it was only by sheer will.

Izuna's body began shaking as she pushed her chakra into his again, she grimaced, he was going into shock, she looked at her clones and watched as they stopped cleaning the wound and held him down as she pushed more healing chakra into him, he'd lost to much blood, _'fuck'_. Making another clone she stepped away from Izuna and looked through her bag. Right now in this time she was so glad she was O negative, the issue was the needle, making the line was the easiest part, making the needle was not the easiest part, she had to take her request to ten different glass blowers and metal workers just to get the needle just like she remembered. making the line just took a long time to find the right material to substitute since the material it was actually made from didn't exist yet. ... Neither did blood transfusions but she guessed since it was a different reality that it would be fine.

Looking through her bag for the tourniquet she pulled it out and walked over to Izuna's unconscious form, she wrapped it tight around his upper arms and sighed in relief as she saw his perfect veins popping out, at least someone was making this a little easier for her, looking around the room she sighed, there were no chairs, but there were other tables, she watched as her clones went and got them and stacked them on top of each other and next to the table Izuna was sitting on that would have to do. Grabbing another tourniquet she wrapped it around herself and laid down on stacked tables and watched as the clones connected the line to her and Izuna, it wasn't the best looking but considering she made it herself she was rather impressed. She grimaced at the pinch of the needle laid down closing her eyes and watching through her clones as they continued to heal Izuna's form.

He wasn't out of the danger zone from dying from blood loss, but the infection was still there and as they pushed more chakra she grimaced at the feel of his own fighting her, now that he had some blood in him his chakra was a little more alive and she didn't like the feel of his slithering against hers with it's darkness.

His organs, veins and muscles were finally repaired and she sucked in a breath as she focused on his chakra pathways and the infection. The infection was the thing that could definitely kill him still, but it was much easier to clean and heal an infection that repair chakra pathways. He was an Uchiha and she learned from Tsunade that Uchiha and Hyuga had some of the most difficult, extensive and unique chakra pathways that healing them was a pain-in-the ass and would use up nearly all of her chakra she'd have use _that _chakra just to keep herself from over-exhausting her own chakra.

Opening her eyes she watched as two clones focused on the chakra pathways while the other one focused on the infection. There was still one more thing she needed to look at but with her own chakra inside Izuna's body she wasn't sure. That look he'd given her though, that look of pure hatred, pure darkness, that was locked in her mind, she'd never seen such a look before, not even Sasuke had ever looked so far gone. It was as if Izuna had just surrendered to the curse.

Izuna's chakra continued to fight her own and it made her realize that it was protecting its host, because chakra was like a parasite, it couldn't survive outside a host for a very long time, not naturally. Chakra lived inside living organisms, and if those living organisms were able to focus they could bend it to their will.

... Chakra was a _parasite. _She learned first hand too, just how parasitic chakra was for an Uchiha, it controlled them, their emotions, their thoughts, their reactions, she'd felt the chakra inside of Obito and she knew that Uchiha's chakra worked them in all sorts of ways that others chakra didn't, it was as if the Uchiha chakra had a mind of it's own, as if it was alive, even she had to admit that her own chakra hadn't felt so alive compared to what Obito's had felt like. Her chakra was a part of her that was for sure, but the Uchiha chakra ... it was so devastatingly beautiful how powerful and how alive it was.

The infection was completely cleaned and healed and she sighed in relief. Izuna was definitely not going to die now, all she had to do was fix his chakra pathways and destroy his curse. ... Sounded just like a regular day. Her two other clones began helping the one that was working on the chakra pathways and she started feeling dizzy.

Being drained of her blood and her chakra was more than she though it would be, but she'd persevere because she had to do this, for her people she needed to save Madara and to do that she needed to save Izuna. She reached out with her chaka and touched his body focusing on his blood, just a little more and he'd be in the safe zone. One of her clones handed her a cloth and she unfolded it to reveal the jerky she'd made a few days ago. It was delicious especially after all the chakra usage and the blood transfer.

Looking over her clone she grimaced at the way her hair looked, yuck, she'd need to find a bathhouse or a clean river, her hair was oily looking and greasy reminding her of a salmon almost, and the dirt that covered it ... she needed to take a little better care of herself.

There was a groan and she ignored it, he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Although, she looked back to her hair, she should dye her hair soon, she was in Hi no Kuni now and while the Henge no Jutsu was more practical, an Uchiha or even a Senju would be able to see through it, she'd have to change her hair color the old fashioned way, on the chance she bumped someone from one of the main clans.

Her thoughts stopped as her clone found what she'd been looking for, she stood up and with the help of a clone she separated herself from Izuna and traded placed with her clone and placed her hands above his head, her chakra penetrating deep into his mind.

_'Holy fuck' _Her brows scrunched together as she closed her eyes and focused, there starting at the crown and twisting into his third eye was a nasty dead piece of chakra, that was feeding off the two primary chakra points and from the looks of it, it had caused bruising on the prefrontal cortex, a dark chakra that so did not belong to him, the DNA structure even dead showed that it a cesspool of random DNA strains as well as a foreign plant like substance. Not completely human not completely plant based. ... _Zetsu_

This was how the curse of hatred worked, it was a parasite just like she had figured it to be. By attaching itself to the third eye and the crown it was blocking the young heirs ability to think clearly, and ground himself. By blocking just these two points in the base chakra points with a dead piece of chakra, Zetsu and Kaguya were able to basically blind the person by causing a sort of mental block, like seeing only half of what was going on.

A blockage in the crown and third-eye in someone so young could even cause insomnia, lowered sex drive, difficulty concentrating, and possibly even coordination problems. The insomnia and concentration problems were probably the worst of all the issues he was going through. She couldn't imagine not being able to get through the night with all that was happening around them.

It felt her chakra and she could almost see it grown and reach for her own and as it touched hers she pulled her chakra out of Izuna's body. That wasn't good, she couldn't use her chakra to remove it without it trying to attack to her own chakra and contaminating it.

It was a true parasite, and there was only one way to get ride of a parasite, she needed to kill the host. _'And after all that hardwork'._

If she remembered in her training even if she'd kill the body the human brain still remained alive and active for at least ten minutes, but she only had at most three minutes to bring back the body before she couldn't resuscitate it. So she'd have to force the brain to think it was dying quickly. Pressing her chakra back into his brain she focused her chakra and took in a deep breath as she watched Izuna's chakra surround her own and try to protect itself. His body began to twitching and he groaned in pain and she focused her chakra more.

His hands grabbed at her wrist and she looked down to see that he was looking at her and she sucked in her breath, Uchiha's were definitely made of some tough material. He tried to push her off him but it was no use, in his current position he couldn't fight off a fly. Her clones grabbed his arms off her and he groaned in pain and she eased her grip on him, she was being a little too rough.

Focusing all her chakra to surround his brain she placed all her killing intent into the chakra and watched as the brain's neurons began to go dark, Zetsu's chakra though, noticed this as well and unraveled itself from Izuna's chakra points and made it's way towards her own. She pulled her chakra out quickly and watched as Izuna's body finally stopped fighting as his brain gave out. Her heart stopped itself as she heard the roar of pain that rumbled through the forest.

_'Madara' ..._

She counted the seconds, three minutes that's all she had was three minutes before she was forced to bring him back or allow the chakra to dye inside his body along with him.

_one hundred and twenty ... Come on, come on,_ _there's no way that chakra was going to let itself die. ... One hundred seventy-seven. Fuck it! _She placed her chakra back into his brain and heart and started the resuscitation process, and as she and her clones pressed on she noted that there was no trace of the foreign chakra and she realized that even though Zetsu's chakra had looked like it was going to attach itself onto her own, it was possibly that his chakra recognized _her _chakra and without a suitable host died inside of Izuna's body.

As Izuna's heart beat to life and the neurons in his brain glimmered back to life she breathed out in relief as she watched his body breath to life in a normal healthy way.

Now all she had to do was get him back to his brother ... that sounded like the easiest thing she was going to have to do in regards to the situation.

_'Whoah' _A wave of dizziness drifted through her system and a clone steadied her and she looked at the needles in her and the Uchiha's arm, she didn't remember making that decision, but considering her clones were of the same conscious it would make sense that they would know what she did think subconsciously. She eased herself back onto the tables they'd set up for her and she canceled out her clones, she needed to rest before she could even think about getting the heir back to his clan.

* * *

In the deepest parts of his mind he acknowledged the fact that he'd never had felt this rested, it pained his heart though as he thought about Madara, his death would certainly undo his older brother, but at this point there was nothing he could do from his place. He was dead and now he could only wait for his brother to join him.

A shuffle was close by and he snapped his eyes open to look up at a wooden ceiling, this was certainly not heaven nor was it hell, he sat up and his body groaned in pain and he looked down at himself to see his shirt ripped open and the wound that should have killed him was gone, replacing it was soft smooth skin and uninjured muscles. "What sort of magic is this?"

The shuffle that had awoken him before came again and he snapped his head in the direction of it and his blood ran cold at the sight before him.

There laying against the shoji screen was a girl with bright _pink _hair with a purple diamond shaped tattoo in the middle of her forehead, she looked to be sleeping and he stood up uneasily with the low table crying beneath the loss of his weight. A weird sort of string stopped him in his march as he took notice that it was connected between him and the girl and it went into his arm he grimaced as it stung when he tried to take it out.

"Don't do that". His eyes flicked over to the girl and his breath caught at the bright green eyes that stared at him and he could swear he could see his soul reflected back at him through those glassy depths. She slid off the tables she had been on, her cloak she'd been using as a blanket sliding off her body as well and he looked away at the realization that she wasn't wearing a top, the curve of her breast spilling out from the leather bindings she wore. He swallowed carefully as she approached him as if he was some wounded animal. "Here let me help you". He took a step away from her but lamented at the feeling of the needle in his arm that connected the two of them. "What did you do to me witch?" She looked at him solemnly as she took a seat on the table that he had just been laying on and he watched as her skinny belly clenched and revealed the toned muscles beneath as she placed a sandaled foot on the table, with her black shinobi pants and body language he would have confused her for a shinobi if it wasn't for her feminine features and he watched as she pinched the string that connected them. "What do you remember Izuna-san?"

She knew his name? "I was battling the Senju when that red-eyed demon got the better of me ... Ma .. my _chief_ took me to the healers and". She nodded her head, her long, unruly hair bouncing as she did so. "The wound that the Senju inflicted upon you would have been fatal, by the time I was able to obtain you, you'd already begun to suffer from extreme blood loss on top of an infection setting in, your healers were going to consider you dead by the hour."

A glimpse of what she had been speaking about raced across his mind and he held still as he remembered how she'd gotten into his rooms and past his brother and guards. He looked back towards her and watched as she removed the needle from her arm and wrapped it with a cloth, her face was skinny and young, slightly dirty like her hair but so very feminine and very elegant. Besides those large feminine green eyes was that purple tattoo. It didn't look like a normal tattoo in the least but it certainly wasn't any sort of birth mark he'd ever seen. She was so ... _female_.

"I saved you Izuna-san that's what I did, now let me finishing caring for you". She didn't have any killing intent coming off her, but he'd heard of some clans using their woman as bait. She rolled her eyes as she stood up and he took in her skinny belly again but now he got a good view of her wide hips, nothing compared to a lot of other women in the clan but wide enough to be noticeable, especially since she wasn't dressed properly. "Listen I'm not going to hurt you or your brother, I just want to heal you" She seemed so genuine and she was so pleasant looking that it was hard to keep resisting her.

His shoulders shrugged in surrender and she moved forward and was quick in her work as she detached the needle from his arms. She smelled good and womanly and like the forest and he took in his surroundings as he waited for her to finish wrapping his arms.

Were they in a tea house? It looked destroyed and as if no one had been there in decades but he could still tell that at one time it might have been a nice teahouse. "Do you live here?" She scoffed and he looked down at her in amusement, it was so un-lady like. "Not likely, it was the closest place I found that was secured enough to hide in while I healed you". She finished his wrapping and stepped away from him before she looked up at him.

Her stare was slightly unnerving to him, especially considering he wasn't used to random strangers, women at that, looking him straight in the eyes so boldly. "Deactivate your Sharingan please". She said it so simply that he was shocked, nobody just spoke to an Uchiha like that. "I need to take a look at your eyes ... I noticed that you were able to evolve your Sharingan to the Mangekyo Sharingan, in the time that I've been in your presence and your brothers I've noticed that the two of you hardly ever deactivate your Sharingan I surmise that this is because the two of you can't see without it anymore ... I want to see if there's anyway I can heal the damage that the Mangekyo has caused to your sight ... If you'll allow me".

There it was, she wanted his eyes, or at the very least she wanted to destroy his eyes. He backed away from her and she didn't follow, he attempted to walk out of the teahouse only to be pushed back by an unseeable barrier. "I wouldn't try that, we're locked in here for another day at least, the barrier will hold still unless someone from the other side is able to dismantle it".

He turned back towards her and watched as she stood there with her arms behind her back and her chest pressed out, she was small in height and body and didn't seem like she was dangerous but still he hadn't survived this long by trusting people outside his clan. "How's your head feeling?" He regarded her and she smiled impishly at him and it struck him how young she looked, she had to have been younger than him.

"Izuna-san I am only trying to help you, if you do not wish for me to look at your eyes than I will not go anywhere near them, you have my word". "A word of a witch". She rolled her eyes at him again and he couldn't believe she was rolling her eyes, what sort of woman was she?

"I am not a witch, I use chakra just like you do, only I prefer to heal people with my chakra ... I don't want to hurt anyone". How had she survived so long with her abilities? She looked down at her feet then as she spoke. "Let's start over yes? My name is Sakura". _Sakura _well that was creative of her family to name her after the flower her hair looked like. "Sakura" she looked up then as he tried it on his tongue. "No clan Sakura?" He wanted to hear her lie to him. "No ... It's just me, I've been on my own for a few years now". From the looks of how skinny she was and how dirty her hair and clothes were he would guess that to be a truthful statement. "This is where you introduce yourself". She said as she regarded him with curious eyes.

He nodded and he took a step closer to her and straightened himself out before bowing carefully to her like he'd been taught, the feeling of his hair tickled his neck as he did so. "I am Uchiha Izuna, heir apparent to the Uchiha Clan and younger brother to Uchiha Madara" He stood back up and she looked like she was confused about something. "I thought shinobi weren't supposed to give out there clan names?" He shrugged his shoulders. "You already know though, may as well give you a proper introduction". She nodded her head.

"Did that hurt your side?" He shook his head and looked down at his side where the wound had been inflicted upon him. "No, it's so fascinating, it's as if it never happened". "Good and you're gonna make sure that it never will happen because that took a lot of work to heal even for me, your chakra pathways had been destroyed on that side, but seeing as you're using your Sharingan I take it that they're working properly again".

She seemed to go back to her medical report as if she didn't want to speak of anything else he tried once more. "So Sakura", the name felt weird on his lips. "Where do you live?" She didn't answer him, she had turned her back towards him and he took in the definition of her back muscles, definitely not an ordinary woman. "Sakura ... san" She continued to look through her bag. "Yes Izuna-san?" "Why did you save me?" She stopped and turned towards him and he was taken by how small she looked underneath her thick long hair. "I am grateful of course but you are not indebted to me or my kinsmen ... so why save me?" She looked to be contemplating something and he waited for her to speak.

"Your death would have caused dire consequences for the world ... I think there's enough bloodshed out there, don't you agree?" Dire consequences? He wondered what she was speaking about, before he could ask she changed the subject on him. "Are you hungry?" She turned completely towards him as she revealed what looked to be jerky and his stomach twisted at the sight. When was the last time he had eaten? Before the battle with the Senju or the day before that? He couldn't remember but it looked good. He watched as she grabbed a piece of jerky and began eating it, showing him that it wasn't poisoned.

It was edible and he watched as she went back to her spot on the double tables and sat against the shoji screen, using her cloak as a blanket. "Take as much as you'd like Izuna-san I made plenty ... but you should rest afterwords, I want to get you back to your brother as soon as the barrier comes down". He noticed that once again she had mentioned Madara.

She wasn't going to answer him, he'd already realized that she preferred doing the asking, but it didn't hurt to try, he sat down on the lower table next to hers and watched as she closed her eyes, not looking even a little bit bothered by being in the presence of a stranger. "Sakura-san". "Yes Izuna-san?" "Do you know Madara? My brother". Her answer only caused him to want to ask her more questions. "Not in this life". He reigned himself in as he took in her relaxed state. "Sakura-san" "Yes Izuna-san?" There was only one way to get her to talk to him but he wasn't sure he wanted her anywhere near his eyes. "Will you give me back my sight?" Her eyes opened then and she sprung up from her position. "Yes, of course Izuna-san". She stood in front of him then and her hands glowed green with chakra and he grimaced as she brought her hands closer to his face.

He pulled away, there was no way he could do it. "I'm sorry I can't". She sighed and she reached out with her glowing hands and touched his bandaged arm, all he could feel was smooth, cool, refreshing chakra swim through his system. "That's all you'll feel". She unwrapped his bandage and revealed smooth skin. "That's all I plan to do is heal you".

That was definitely an amazing gift she had. She placed her hands near his face again and he closed his eyes, waiting for something bad to happen, but all that he could feel when she placed her hands on him was that _good, clean _chakra.

She huffed and he knew she wouldn't answer him, but she surprised him. "What's wrong?" "Everything ... I knew that the optic nerves and the optic disc would be bad, but now that I'm able to really see what's wrong it's more than that, your retinae blood vessels are shot and your chakra pathways that were connected to your third eye chakra point are burnt up with some sever chakra clotting" He always took himself to be a fairly educated man, but he had no idea what she had just said. "What does that mean?" She pulled away and she took her chakra with her and he opened his eyes to look at her.

"It means your eyes are deteriorating at such an increased rate that soon enough you may not even be able to see with the Sharingan" He knew he was going blind, but if he lost his Sharingan as well ... "I can fix your eye sight, even your sight with your Sharingan, but it won't be permanent and I'm not sure how long before it will start to regress, but perhaps if you use your Sharingan less often it will lengthen the time frame before you need to be healed again".

He knew a way to make it permanent, but the cost of it ... He couldn't do that, even at the price of losing his sight he couldn't do it. He looked over to the woman and watched as she took the table she had been laying on and placed it on the end of the table he was sitting on before she placed the other table and placed it at the head. She had made one long table.

She sat against the shoji screen once more and folder her legs before she looked up at him expectantly. "Lay your head down and get comfortable, this is gonna take a while".

He felt uncomfortable at the thought of her breast hanging above his head and before he could even voice such thoughts he watched as her face turned a lovely shade of red as if she'd just noticed what she was wearing. She grabbed her cloak again and threw it over her, covering herself up again before she looked back at him shyly. He laid down on her folded legs then and listened to the tables sigh under his and her weight. His senses were screaming at him not to do this but something in his gut told him that she wasn't going to hurt him. He closed his eyes as he felt her smooth his hair out of his face. "If you feel uncomfortable at all, just tell me and we'll stop the session okay". She was so ... caring like a mother, like the midwife that had cooed his mother into childbirth and death.

Her chakra entered his system and he sighed at the relief he felt as it washed through him. The pressure on his eyes immediately dispersed and he relaxed at the feeling. "There we go, this would have been so much more difficult if you hadn't relaxed your eyes".

This was his chance, he needed to take it while it was presented. "Sakura-san" "Yes Izuna-san?" "How do you know so much about the Sharingan?" He could feel the flicker in her chakra within him and he calmed himself down waiting for her to answer.

"It's the Sharingan, everyone knows that the Uchiha Clan possess powerful eyes". Yes of course she wouldn't answer him directly, but no matter he'd pressed on. "Yes that's true, but besides my kinsmen, no one outside the Uchiha actually know about it, they know of it, but you knew about the Mangekyo Sharingan, nobody outside the clan knows that one whom possesses the Sharingan can evolve it into the Mangekyo". He could hear the gulp she made and he knew that she was thinking of an answer, a way around the question, but he made sure he didn't leave her the ability to dodge it.

"Izuna-san" She stopped and he waited knowing that she couldn't find a way out of this one. "Relax your eyes, it's hard to heal you when your putting stress on them". He sighed, she'd rather change the subject then let him know how she knew secrets of his clan. "Sakura-san be honest, did you kill or someone you know kill one of my kinsmen? Is that how you know so much about the Sharingan?" It was his last ditch effort.

"I know just as much about the Byakugan from the infamous Hyuga Clan as I do about the Sharingan from the Uchiha Clan and I know Yamanaka Clan's Kekki Genkai ... Name a Clan and I can tell you all there secrets if I was so willing" He sucked in his breath as he remembered the fatal battle against the Yamanaka Clan, they were true witches like he had never seen before, able to take control of a persons mind and control them, take their will away, nearly half his platoon had died when they'd come face to face with them.

"How do you know so much about all of us?" "I live on the outside of your world ... I see more than those that live inside of it ... It's a sad thing to watch as you all fight and kill each other".

He wasn't sure he wanted to continue this conversation and he could feel through her chakra that she didn't want to either. "Are you a Senju?" She laughed at him. "With this hair do you think I could pass for a Senju?"

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, with him guessing her clan or family name and her turning him down each time, when he ran through all the names he could think of he finally changed the guessing. She would scoff at each guess at where she originated from and he finally gave up, either she was lying or she fell from the heavens he wasn't sure which one he preferred, but the feel of her chakra in his body made him not really care about any of it.

Soon enough all his mind could think about were her large green eyes and the picture that Madara had drawn about the child he had dreamt of, the colors were slightly off but her eyes were something that could not be copied, she was the woman that would bare Madara's dream.

The problem though was more of the fact that his brother was the Chief of the Uchiha Clan and as such he was required to marry someone more ... appropriate. The political side of marriage arrangements was a difficult one to swallow and Madara and himself had been able to fend off the elders and their father for some years about the subject, but the problem was that they had duties to uphold to and Sakura was not someone that could just be married into a clan as she was a commoner, she carried no titles of her own, from what he could tell she carried no lands, no clan name to cling to and yet here was his brother dreaming of a child with eyes that Sakura carried.

The fates were really angry at them it seemed.

Sakura's chakra flickered again and this time it flickered out of his system and he blinked his eyes open.

His heart stopped everything was blurry, worse than what it was before and he felt his anger building at the realization that she had tricked him, but as his eyesight adjusted he watched as it all became sharper, more pronounced, more detailed, even the colors were more vibrant. He turned to tell her only to find that she'd fallen asleep.

She was so trusting, so good, if he'd been a lesser man he might have taken advantage of her then, but he wasn't, he couldn't especially now. She'd kept him from death and had restored his eyesight and she'd asked of nothing in return, how could he even think to hurt such a special person?

He waited for her to wake up even after he felt the barriers surrounding the teahouse come down, after the sun had risen and peaked and fell, he watched her sleep like the dead, not moving just breathing small breaths.

What she had done must have taken a lot out of her.

The moon was high and bright in the sky by the time she finally woke up and he watched her carefully, she looked lost for a moment as if she didn't know where she was and as she turned to him. Her eyes almost smiled at him, as if they'd known each other for decades before some sort of realization came to her and that light in her eyes dimmed.

"You're still here?" She was surprised it would seem, well considering she'd healed him and the barriers were down he would be surprised to there was no reason for him to still be there, but he supposed he couldn't just leave her there unguarded and unknowing, someone could have stumbled onto her and hurt her.

"I felt it necessary to stay at least until you woke up". She nodded her head. "I'm glad you stayed, I wanted to look over your eyes before I left you with your clan". Of course that's all she was focused on, he should be grateful that she cared as much as she did but it was rather unnerving that she knew so much about them and she was a complete stranger.

She stood up then and he did as well she shook her head. "Sit back down, this will only take a second" Her hands glowed green and her chakra invaded his system in the most blissful of ways, his own chakra didn't even fight hers.

"Everything looks good, I would recommend not activating your Sharingan at least for a week, I know I can't keep you from using it so just give it a week, it may be too sensitive to use right now". He nodded his head, his eyes had hurt too for a moment when the sun had first peaked through the windows and bathed the teahouse in sunlight. Now that it was dark it was much more bearable to handle the sensitivity.

"Now stand I want to look at that wound and your chakra pathways". She didn't even give him the second to stand up before she pushed her chakra into him. "Good good good, Let's get you back then". He nodded his head in agreement.

She grabbed her pack and the mask she wore and he watched her as she cleaned the place up after herself and watched as she made things look like they'd never been even been there. "Sakura-san" "Hmm?" She walked out of the teahouse as she acknowledged him.

"Where is your family? Your husband and children? Surely your husband would be worried sick about you missing?" He wondered if she realized that he was fishing for answers on her love life. He'd need to make sure that he'd get them out of the way if he wanted to find a way to bring her into the clan.

"Surely your wife and children must be worried about you too Izuna-san", she was never going to let him in, he wondered if he was a little more open with her if she'd be open with him more. "I've never married ... I've never even lain with a woman before ... before I met you the thought of laying with a woman or a man never interested me. My mind has been so set on protecting my clan from the Senju and all the other clans that it's never really appealed to me to take a wife or lover before". That sounded like he was interested in her, not that it was a bad thing, she was good looking after all, a little skinny and her forehead was just a tad bit wide, and her hair was very ... _loud _but she was good-looking, no one could argue that.

"I didn't save you because I was attracted to you or any of your kinsmen Izuna-san". Well that was enlightening, most women were quick to be with an Uchiha, he wasn't sure what it was but even civilian women were attracted to them, knowing someone was not made him feel a little better with the knowledge she wasn't out to use them for personal gain.

Still though, he was curious, she didn't like to answer questions not really, he had so many to ask that were plaguing his mind but she was so set on refusing to answer anything as it was. He noticed that the trees were beginning to become more familiar, with recognizable marks etched into them, he looked over at Sakura and noticed that she recognized them too.

They just stepped into Uchiha territory and Sakura didn't look one bit phased, maybe because she was a woman she didn't deem herself in danger, he looked at her wrist, surely she knew what would happen if they found out that she was unsealed, even if she used her chakra for healing she was a woman and women weren't allowed to use chakra.

They passed the perimeter and he was surprised when no one stopped them. Where were the guards? Madara would not be happy knowing the guards were not at their stations.

"So I forgot to mention one thing". He stopped turned to look at her. "What?" Sakura had already covered her hair and it looked rather interesting as the hood covered her face as she looked down at her feet.

" .. Well see I kind of had to do it". What had she done? "See uh ..." Oh god, what had she done. "I sort of .." Really, now she can't speak. "Spit it out woman!" "I killed you" His heart felt like it popped out of his chest. She looked back up to him and placed her hands up trying to calm him down. "But it was only for like three minutes ... and I think your brother might have somehow ... felt it".

Oh gods, know wonder there were no guards around. He wasn't even sure how to respond to that, instead he turned away and continued marching through the forest with Sakura behind him. Not sure what he wanted to yell at her. Madara must have thought him dead! They must have been preparing a memorial if they didn't have his body ... or worse Madara must have called in all the guards to prepare for war against the Senju.

They got to the gates of the Uchiha compound and he knew that whatever was beyond this was not a happy one.

"Well, looks like I got your safely back to your home" He nodded his head. "Yeah, you did ... Sakura" She looked up at him with those big green eyes and he almost forgot about what he was thinking. "Where are you going to go after this?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I got other things that require my attention, and now that I've saved you from dying I can get back to them". He couldn't allow that to happen, he needed to get her to Madara immediately.

He heard shouting from the other side of the gates and Sakura's eyes widened, and he grabbed her wrist to keep her from leaving and as the gates open. "Don't leave, stay and meet my brother, we won't hurt you" He couldn't he was indebted to her and Madara would never hurt a woman, especially Sakura. "I'm sorry" Sakura pushed him forward and slipped her wrist from him. She was gone just like that and instead he came face to face with Madara and his kinsmen.

His eyes glowed fiercely in the dark and with his battle gear and weapons attached he'd looked ready for war, the killing intent that rolled off of him was almost suffocating. They made eye contact though and he watched as his brother dropped his gunbai and walked forward, the world seemed to still then as everything went quiet.

"You're alive!" Madara touched his face as if he was looking at a dead man and Izuna grimaced as he pushed him away. "Yes I'm alive, it's only been two days". The face Madara gave him didn't make him feel good.

"Izuna, It's been a week since that demon stole you" A week! Sakura took an entire week from him! How long had she been healing him before he had woken up? He watched as Madara continued to stare at him and he looked down at his stomach Madara following his gaze. "No ... That Senju ... that side ... you were on the brink of death ... How".

He looked back up at Madara not sure if he wanted to speak with him about Sakura in front of the others. "We need to talk in private brother". Madara nodded his head as he turned to disperse the army.

* * *

The healers were in awe at the sight of Izuna's skin and so was he, he'd never seen anything like that, he knew Hashirama had the ability to heal himself and he'd heard that the Ninso practiced a sort of healing technique but he'd never heard of anything like this!

"Leave us". The healers seemed like they wanted to continue prodding at his brother, but he was tired of it, what would they learn from healed skin that they didn't learn from torn skin.

The healers seemed reluctant but he wanted to know what had happened and Izuna didn't seem to want to speak about it in front of anyone. He turned and grabbed a clean tunic for his brother and his attention turned to the blood stained one that his brother had appeared in, The part where the demon eyed Senju wounded him had the biggest stain, what really caught his attention was the two small prints at the torn sides.

"It was a woman" With wide eyes he turned to look at his brother, unsure if he had heard corrected. "A woman?" Izuna nodded his head. "A young woman, I couldn't believe it at first either, but she was definitely female, it was unmistakable".

A woman, a woman healed his brother. He walked over to where his brother sat and handed him the clean tunic and pressed his palm to the wound. "Incredible, what sort of witchery is this?" His brother shook his head.

"No witchcraft brother, she used chakra". He stepped away from Izuna to allow him to dress, chakra? Not possible! "I thought it witchcraft too, but I saw her chakra, I felt it inside me ... It was incredible".

Someone with that sort of healing abilities could be useful on the battlefield. "You didn't bring her with you". "I had her, I really did, but she got away from me".

She got away ... Izuna was one of the best fighters the Uchiha clan had ever had and some girl had gotten away from him? How interesting. "She's young though" Yes he'd already mentioned that. "Her chakra is unsealed" If she was using it to heal him like he'd just said he would have assumed that. "She's out there all alone too, she doesn't have a family or a clan, it's just her". He shook his head. "She couldn't be alone" He turned around and opened a drawer in the chest and grabbed the noose that had been used on him.

"One used that to pull me up and I doubt that she's that strong and another distracted me long enough while the other was with you, she's working with others out there". There was no way some little girl could have pulled it all off all on her own.

"We need her Madara, she could save the clan". They agreed on that, they definitely needed her, her abilities would help their clan tenfold. "I'll make sure the others know to keep an eye out for her, she can't be that hard to find, she's an unsealed women" Izuna nodded his head before they allowed the silence to take hold of them.

Izuna was never really one to stay silent long though, even as children he always needed to hear someone talk, as if the silence was unbearable. "Was I really gone for a week?"

Remembering the feeling of Izuna dying made it hard for him to focus on the question but he nodded his head through it. "Yes ... the Elders had been preparing for your memorial ... I had been preparing the others for battle ... that demon killed you ... I couldn't allow him to live without you as well".

"So that's where you were going" He nodded his head. "These last few days were hard for the clan, you are my heir and as that losing you ... I cannot lose you Izuna, we only have each other really".

Even if they were part of a clan, they shared more blood with each other and a stronger bond than any other person in the clan. Izuna was all he had left in the world and losing him ...

Izuna stepped off the desk and placed his shirt on before he started placing his sandals back on as well. What was he doing? Where was he going? Surely he wasn't about to go off and search for the girl!

"Where are you going?" Izuna straightened to his full height then and he looked bent on whatever he was thinking. "It's time Madara, this war ... we need to stop this fighting".

At the battle when he had fallen, Izuna had been adamant about not trusting Hashirama. "I thought you didn't want to ally with them". Izuna looked over to him. "I don't trust Tobirama, we've seen him on the battlefield, we know what sort of person he is, but Hashirama is not like any other Senju, he wants to stop the fighting, just as much as you once did."

It was true he remembered Hashirama as a child and he was certainly different than other Senju's he'd ever come to face. Still though a part of him was bothered by that fact that Hashirama did not reach out to offer a truce until his brother was dying by the hands of his own brother. ... The thought left a bad taste in his mouth and he decided he didn't like the idea of Hashirama planning such an attack. It was beneath him.

"I know you feel a pull towards him Madara, you told me about it after we found you with him that day ... And you haven't been the same since then" He couldn't admit it now that he was the clan chief that he felt something, but once upon a time he remembered the feeling, it was as if something in Hashirama was the part he'd been searching for, a feeling he had felt when it came to all his younger siblings.

Hashirama wasn't one of his brothers though, but there was something that had pulled him back to the stream when he was a child. "We need to discuss this with the others before we go to them". There was a fire in his brothers eyes, one that he knew all too well. "Madara, you are the clan Chief, you once told me that when you became Chief you wouldn't allow them to control you".

Yes, he did say that once, before he realized what it meant to be Chief. "Izuna you must understand that I cannot just make decisions without consulting the clan". Izuna shook his head. "And waste precious time, we need to do this now before the opportunity passes us by". He understood that but Izuna didn't seem to understand the politics involved in running the clan. "Izuna". "Do you want to make peace with the Senju?" He knew Izuna knew his answer. "Then stop allowing the Elders to believe this clan is a democracy, you are the Chief, you say where this clan is going".

It was rather ironic that his younger brother was telling him this, if he was the true Chief he would be tell himself such things.

"Let's go brother, let's make this new world you once dreamt of". With Izuna's acceptance though, he felt a lot better about going to Hashirama with a truce. "I'd like to see you happy again" He shook his head at the younger of them. What had happened to him? He would have thought that Izuna would have been more hellbent on destroying the Senju after what Senju Tobirama had done to him.

"What has happened to you?" Izuna only shrugged her shoulders. "I feel ... Lighter almost, like I understand more now than I did before".

What had that witch done with him? Izuna slid the screen open and turned around. "Actually, before we head out, get rid of your armor and any weapons, if we're going to the Senju's with a peace offering it might be best if you don't go looking like you're ready to kill them all".

A part of him still wanted to, but he understood, they needed to show vulnerability if they were going to do this.

"Oh and Madara ... that girl that healed me". The one that had him kidnapped. "You wouldn't believe it, but she had the most beautiful green eyes"

Green eyes huh, he really couldn't believe it.

* * *

**Thank you for reading this last chapter, it took a long while and I kept going over it before I felt it was ready, I still feel it wasn't ready but I didn't want to go another day without posting it. I hope I can post a chapter at the most every two weeks. But there are a lot of notes from the Forever Gypsy that she gave me that I have been looking over and trying to go by. **

**Anyways**

**thank you for reading. See you in the next chapter!**

Reviews are welcome.

Translations:

Godaime Hokage - Fifth Fire Shadow

Shodai Hokage - First Fire Shadow

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique

Nakama - Friends

Meisaigakure no Jutu - Hiding with Camouflage Technique

Henge no Jutsu - Transformation Technique

Mizu no Kuni - Land of Water

Hōrō-sha - The Wanderer

Hakke no Fui Shiki - Eight Trigrams Sealing Style

Tensei Ninjutsu - Life Transfer Techniques or Reincarnation Ninja Techniques

Shimo no Kuni - Land of Frost

Kaminari no Kuni - Land of Lightening

Hi no Kuni - Land of Fire

Tetsu no Kuni - Land of Iron

Sora-Ku - Sky Ward

Ninso - Ninja Monk

_\- Aethi_


	3. Chapter III : Shinobi Creed

Authors Note

This story has been adopted from the wonderful Forever Gypsy.

All characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi.

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**Chapter **

**III**

_**Shinobi Creed**_

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He remembered Madara as a child, he remembered how _neurotic _his brother had been as they had grown up, of course though now since he was finally walking the path of the heir apparent he understood the pressure he'd been under all those years. With their father the Chief of the Uchiha constantly striving for perfection and the Uchiha Elders breathing down their necks about whatever they expected of the heir he truly understood why Madara was so wired all the time. Thankfully unlike Madara he only had the Elders that bothered him and the healers too now but it couldn't have been as bad as having their father there with them. Then Madara had been so young, the eldest of all their siblings and after their mother had died, how he'd tried to replace her himself, how he tried to care and protect them to their very last breath when their father wouldn't. Madara was a product of the clan and created to be the perfect heir.

Now though, now though he felt horrible about the situation, Madara was about to do something that no one in their clan had ever done and it would put an even bigger weight on his brothers shoulders. This could brake his brother if it didn't work out the way they wanted it to work out.

A truce with the Senju clan, never in a thousand generations had anyone ever called a truce between the two warring clans, but here they were walking to meet the Chief of the Senju and his own heir.

... That damned red-eyed demon Senju Tobirama.

"You were with her a week, did you learn anything else about her?" He turned his head in Madara's direction unsure of what they were talking about. "Sorry?" "That girl, the one that healed you, you were with her for a week, did you learn anything else about her?" He shook his head.

"She didn't talk about herself, not much, she claims she's on her own and she looks it too, beyond that she didn't say much else" "You didn't press more". He sighed, Madara just didn't realize that that girl was not the average girl. "She's not like other women, she's ... different, unless you think I should have used physical force on the girl that saved me, I couldn't push her for more information".

Madara stopped his head. "Or could you possibly been too attracted to her to interrogate her properly?" He stopped as he looked at his brother, not sure if his brother understood just how much they were indebted to the girl and why they couldn't treat her like the other women they'd came across. Sakura was special like nothing he'd ever seen or met.

... And even though she was an attractive women, it didn't mean he was attracted to her personally, no, he knew the moment she opened those green eyes of hers that she wasn't meant to be his.

Looking at his brother he wasn't sure how he could tell him that, his brother had stopped believing in fate a long time ago and lived in the reality of the world.

"If I had wanted her in such a way I would have brought her with me". "She slipped you though". Yes that little pink haired woman did slip him, although he wondered if Madara understood just how fearsome he had looked when the gates had revealed him and the other Uchiha men. Had he not been an Uchiha he would have fled too.

He doubted he could disappear as fast as Sakura did though, she hadn't left any trace of herself not even of her chakra could be tracked. They had even went back last night to the teahouse last night after they had gone to the Senju compound and it had been decimated to nothing but ash. Sakura didn't want anyone to be able to find her, and a part of him felt she didn't want anyone to know of her existence either.

"I told you, she's different". Madara stopped then and he felt it, the Senju brothers chakra, so out in the open like their own was just then. They didn't have that much longer to be alone and he turned to his brother. This was the last chance before they saw the Senju and the only opportunity to speak without anyone inside the Uchiha compound to hear them.

"She healed my eyes brother". Madara turned swiftly towards him, eyes wide. "My sight, she gave it back to me". Madara regarded him carefully. "You let her touch your eyes?" He nodded his head. "I was worry of her at first but her chakra Madara ... It's like breathing in everything bad in your life and breathing out only goodness, it's good and clean and pure chakra that she used to heal my eyes ... my mind, since I met her everything seems so much more ... clearer. It's as if having her chakra bring me from the brink of death, having that clean chakra inside me ... it changed something inside of me".

" ... And you let her slip through your fingers". A part of him blamed it on those large green eyes that Madara had drawn onto a beautiful Uchiha child, another part of him knew it was to save her from the persecution of what would happen when people found out that she was a woman who wasn't sealed.

"Yes, she slipped through my fingers". He knew Madara was looking at the benefits of her, then what she truly represented. Sakura healed his eyes, she gave him his sight back, and that meant she could heal the others in the clan.

Madara turned away from him and started back on an invisible path they remembered from their childhood. He knew eventually Madara would understand why it was okay, even if Madara was the Uchiha Chief, even he couldn't protect Sakura from what would happen when others found out about her.

They came out of the foliage and to a stream and across they saw the two Senju's waiting there for them, the both of them still looking as shocked at the sight of him as they had last night when they had greeted them at the gates of the Senju compound. He held in his anger at the sight of the Senju heir and watched with bated breath as Madara and Hashirama used their chakra to walk across the stream.

"And here I thought last night was a dream, yet here I am with the Uchiha Chief and his heir". The Senju's both turned to look at him and he felt weird, as if this whole _dream _had been designed with the idea that he would not be there. "It is good to see you Madara-san". The Senju bowed then and Madara did the same. "It is good to see you to Hashirama-san, especially on this occasion".

This occasion should have been written for occasion but no one cared about the little details of such things. "Uchiha" The Senju heir grabbed their attention as he walked onto the stream as well, it was obvious that he would not allow the Senju Chief to be so far from him. He didn't like Madara being so close to the slithery Senju either. He focused his chakra to his feet then and walked over to the three.

Hashirama was so open with his emotions and his gut twisted at the awed look he held as he stood next to Madara. "It is good to see you in such great health Izuna-san". Of course he wouldn't know his name. He hadn't been the heir that mattered when they were younger. He nodded his head. "It is good to be in good health Hashirama-san". The Senju heir cleared his throat. "We are here today to speak of an armistice between our two clans before we can of course begin talks of an alliance".

Hashirama rolled his eyes then and he wasn't sure what to make of it. "Calm down Tobi-kun, we can disperse with the propriety". The Senju heir didn't look happy about his brothers lax attitude. "Truly though". Hashirama set his eyes on him again. "It is good to see you Izuna-san ... I must say I am surprised though, my brother has an astonishing ability to deliver fatal strikes upon his victims, to see you standing here with us is astonishing, fabulous really, having Madara come here today is truly a gift, but having the Uchiha heir with us too, I sense good things coming".

"The Uchiha healers must be something _pretty _amazing". He noted his usage of words as he looked over to Tobirama whom was eying him as he spoke. Did he know of Sakura and her abilities, did she lie to him about not being a Senju?

It was Madara that deflected the conversation. "Yes well, you'll come to find that Uchiha's we made and born of fire from the gods, it takes more than a _simple _stab to hurt us". Calling Tobirama's attack on him simple was a jab at the Senju's inability to kill him, a well deserved jab.

Tobirama was angered, they could see it in his devilish red eyes how angered he was about his inability to kill an Uchiha heir.

Everything stilled as they watched Tobirama reach into his robes, was this just a ploy to get them to come without protection? His chakra swarmed through him and he held it together, he had his eyesight to think of right now, she had told him to give it at least a week before he used his Sharingan.

Tobirama pulled out a scroll and he let go of the breath that he'd been holding, Hashirama and Madara had as well and he watched as Tobirama pushed the scroll into the Senju Chiefs stomach harshly. Obviously the Senju heir didn't believe in the hierarchy of clans as he behaved so disrespectfully towards his Chief. He looked over to Madara whom had a calculating look on his face that he read to well.

... Senju Tobirama was going to be a problem, possibly even for the Senju Chief as well.

"Yes, we have some conditions for you to look over as well before we agree to any treaties as well" Madara stated as he looked over to him and he handed the scroll out to his older brother, making sure he showed just how well behaved an heir was to their Chief. The two chiefs traded scrolls then and Madara unrolled the one from the Senju's and began reading through it.

Turning his attention back towards the Senjus he watched as Tobirama pulled the scroll away from his Chief and began reading it for himself as his Chief tried to get it back. Did he even have any respect for his Chief?

"This will not do". Madara looked away from the scroll in his hands with a lifted brow at the heir and turned his attention towards the Chief. "Hashirama-san I must have heard incorrectly did you find something wrong with the demands I gave?" Hashirama looked clearly annoyed at his heir and Tobirama rolled the scroll up and handed it back to Hashirama. "No Madara-san nothing is wrong". "We will not being agreeing to this, go back and draw up a new agreement". Hashirama did not look happy at his heir just then and he looked over at his brother unsure of what was going on.

Madara handed the scroll to him as he looked over to the Senju's. "I am here to make an armistice with the Senju Chief, which of you is that?" Madara knew exactly how to put an end to this, he had been dealing with clan politics since he was a child, he knew what would put the Senju heir in his place.

Hashirama didn't look pleased with his brother and he was rather happy that he could say that never in any times had he ever shown his own brother such disrespect, even at the times when they hadn't agreed on matters.

Tobirama was a prideful man though, just as his father had been. "The Hagoromo Clan will not be a part of this treaty". He looked over to Madara whom had not allowed his stare at Hashirama to falter. "The Hagoromo Clan has been allied with the Uchiha for centuries, if they are not allowed to be part of this treaty then we demand the Uzumaki Clan to be eliminated from the treaty as well".

Hashirama finally spoke up. "Excuse my brother Madara-san, he seems to have forgotten his rank". The look that Hashirama was giving the younger Senju made him feel uncomfortable, it reminded him of the look his father would give Madara before he would beat him for his wrong-doings.

Tobirama was not bothered by this look though. "The Uzumaki Clan are blooded to us as well as that they are to be married into our clan once more, can you say the same for the Hagoromo". "Tobirama that is enough!"

He wasn't sure he'd ever heard the Senju Chief ever sound so ... menacing. Even during battle Hashirama had always depicted a sort of ashamed shinobi, as if killing and fighting Uchiha's was something he'd rather not be doing.

"Go back home". "I will not leave you here with them alone". Hashirama turned his entire body to him. "I said leave". Tobirama didn't look pleased but he walked off the stream anyways.

Hashirama turned back towards them, his face red with embarrassment and shame. "Sorry about that, he's just very wary". He opened his eyes fully then a serious look on his face. "Do understand that the last time we had to deal with the Hagoromo Clan and the Uchiha Clan as a whole one of our younger brothers didn't survive it" Madara nodded his head in understanding.

"I understand that creating an alliance with someone that hurt your family is hard, we have lost brothers as well to clans that have sided with you, but that is why we are here, to stop the killing of innocent children ... I would not bring in any clan that would sully our dream of a peaceful shinobi village".

Hashirama nodded his head. "I know you wouldn't Madara-san, Tobirama is just very ... protective of the clan, honestly my father would have preferred him as Chief over me, but I was born first and my brother wasn't ... I was weary honestly though, I would have thought things would have escalated more with the realization that Izuna-san here seemed to make a remarkable recovery I worried that the two of you would have been spiteful for what happened ... Thank goodness that the gods have blessed you with a more understanding heir than they have me".

He looked over to Madara unsure of how to feel about everything. Madara looked clearly annoyed. "Hashirama-san, are there going to be issues with your clan elders or heir? I'd rather know now before we continue anymore talks of a treaty".

"Everything is fine Madara-san you won't have to worry about anything". Madara nodded his head. Hashirama clasped his hands together, his mood quick in its change as he went from serious too brightly happy in seconds. "Now let us sign these armistice and we can officially begin talks about our alliance!" Madara only shook his head in annoyance.

Hashirama looked away then and began to holler into the forest. "Tobi-kun! Tobi-kun! ... Ah that man! ... I think the table should be ready, come let us I brought sake to celebrate this occasion!" As they followed the Senju Chief they continued to listen to him babble and he turned his attention back towards Madara trying to convey his thoughts without letting the Senju know that he was worried.

Madara seemed distracted though as he spoke. "Hashirama-san must you be so loud all the time?" Hashirama only smiled lamely at them as he rubbed the back of his head. "Ne Madara-san are you married? Obviously with Izuna-san being your heir, you have no children but I've always wondered... "

Madara rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Always wondered why?" "I was hoping to meet the Uchiha Matriarch ... see what sort of women is willing to put up with your bland attitude and small" Hashirama stopped his talking just as quick as Madara smacked him on the head. "At least I'm _proportioned _properly compared to you". The air turned stale around the Senju and he was pouting at Madara. "Why must you be so cruel to me Madara-san?" Madara only crossed his arms as he shook his head in disappointment. "Shut up Hashirama you should know better".

Getting to the table that had been set up had been simple, and nothing that crossed his path seemed to scream trap, but his instincts had never steered him wrong and to ignore them was out of the question. So as Madara and the Senju began to speak to themselves and drink away at the sake that had been left at the table for them he decided to opt out of joining in much to his brothers chagrin.

feeling at the steel of his hidden kunai against his wrist, he watched the two Chiefs laugh as they caught up, his neck only snapping at the sight of the Senju heir, hiding in the trees and watching for any sort of signs of danger towards his brother. Despite the scene that had played out between the Chief and the heir everyone, even the Senju heir knew that Hashirama was the strongest shinobi that anyone had crossed. Challenging him would no doubt end in the younger Senju's defeat.

Looking back at Madara he took in the sight of his brother, so relaxed and at ease, a sight he hadn't seen in a long time, the relationship between Hashirama and Madara was an odd one and he remembered after the confrontation what his brother had told him.

_'I love you Izuna-kun, but I don't know, there's something about him, before I met him I felt like I was missing something in my life, when I met him, it felt natural, and a sort of pull kept me going back and now ... now it's like I lost a limb, it's not love, it's not lust. ... I don't know what it is, but he was it.'_

A lost limb, a phantom limb that Madara had always felt missing and now he could see it in the older Madara and the Chief Senju. The reaction their physical nearness caused, it wasn't sexual, it was ... something different.

Tobirama walked over and placed two senbon on the table, looking apathetic to the situation, he couldn't understand how the man didn't see how momentous this occasion was, while it wasn't a treaty a standstill between the two clans said a lot, talks of peace could lead to prosperity for both clans.

Madara eyed the senbon and instead ignored it as he unrolled his scroll along just as the Senju did and used his own canines to tear into his pointer finger. Madara hadn't survived as log as he did by assuming that allies wouldn't kill him.

This sight of his brother so relaxed and happy was a sight to behold though, the smile lines and creases in the corner of his tired eyes, that was a real smile.

It reminded him of what his brother had looked like the day he'd gotten back to the Uchiha compound. Even though Madara looked menacing then, he saw what all the other kinsmen saw, his death had broken his older brother. He didn't know how he'd known, he'd never asked Madara about it either, but somehow, Madara had known that he had died and it had broken him, even for a moment he had fallen apart. It worried him, he knew, even if he was alive and well that Madara hadn't come back from the realization that he'd lost him.

Even if for a moment he had died. ... The realization brought the thought of Sakura back to his mind.

He'd been up all night trying to think of ways to get her to Madara but each and every route he'd though of was blocked by clan laws and regulations. The Uchiha clan had always been careful with bringing outsiders in and new blood never crossed with pure blood which is what he and Madara were, the purest of the pure. Sakura's blood didn't even touch the surface of an Uchiha's. She wasn't made in the fires and hearth of an Uchiha woman.

She was special though, especially with those green eyes and healing hands, and Madara had dreamed of those green eyes and he would make sure that Madara would have the girl. ... Sakura was the Uchiha clans salvation, even if she didn't know it.

He froze in his spot as he felt two chakra signatures getting close to them, he looked over to the two chiefs and noticed they too had noticed the chakra signatures and they stood, Tobirama getting closer to Hashirama as he did so.

There was something about those chakra signatures that were so familiar though. "There!" Madara called out as two shadows appeared above them.

_'Shit' _That cloak, that mask, it was Sakura and she was falling very very quickly from the mountains cliff, another shinobi clad in a black cloak and samurai mask fell along with her and Izuna watched trying to figure out how he was going to be able to save her from that fall. Instead he watched as she grabbed onto the other shinobi and switched their bodies around quickly before they made the landing.

The dust picked up heavily from the fall and a crater had been formed. Madara's Sharingan was spinning and he watched as Hashirama stopped him from going towards the two shinobi that had just fallen off the cliff.

"Wait Madara, don't interfere unless it's a threat to us". Madara huffed, "That's one of the men that broke into my home and destroyed the main house!" So he'd learned that before Sakura had gotten him to the teahouse, there had been two shinobi that had broken into the main house and had kidnapped him and fought Madara. Together with Madara they'd destroyed his bedroom and nearly the entire main house. For some reason he wasn't sure that was what really happened, a part of him, the part that had blocked out the hours before his death did he remember bits and pieces of his kidnapping and he remembered a shinobi standing before him, but his memory of the time still hadn't come back to bits and pieces but not completely or whole at all.

The air cleared and from the crater a tall shinobi with the samurai mask stood, his killing intent strong and he moved quickly forward towards the four of them. Katana out and ready to kill, before any of them could react Sakura had jumped on his back, quickly subdoing the other shinobi in a chokehold and he shook her off as he threw her over his shoulder. The shinobi kept moving towards them and that was when all of them pulled out their weapons.

"So much for no weapons". Madara commented, Tobirama hissed at him. "Do you really think we trust you not to try to kill us?" Hashirama stopped the squabbling before it could get out of hand. "Focus! The smaller one is none hostile, the samurai". He was stopped short as the samurai attacked him first, his eyes wide as he screamed at the samurai. "Your chakra!"

Sakura got in between them from her spot on the ground and rolled herself to trip the samurai, he twisted and hit the floor face first, his hood coming off to reveal his short brown and greying hair.

Hashirama stood frozen in his spot as Tobirama checked on him. "Hashirama?" He didn't respond just stood there watching the samurai. Looking over at Madara he noticed that his brother looked worried as well. It was Sakura, as she was covered up that took the brute of the samurai though, he stood from his spot and kicked her side, his back to them, spitting blood as he did, the mask must have broken if he was capable of that.

There was something about his chakra though, so familiar but he couldn't place it. A passed foe perhaps?

Sakura stood from her spot, holding onto her side as she did so and he could smell the blood that seeped out of the wound, he'd gotten her at some point. The Samurai turned then revealing his familiar face and the world seemed to freeze around them all.

_Senju Butsuma _... Hashirama and Tobirama's father, he was trying to kill the heir. Hashirama couldn't hold back his thoughts any longer. "Why?" The questioned they all wanted to know. Why ... How?

"You are weak hearted ... and I knew that you'd ruin the clan by making peace with these _devils_" He spit out more blood before he continued. "Traitors like you make me sick". Hashirama looked sick just by the realization that his father was out to kill him.

Out of respect he and Madara would stay out of it. Tobirama was the only concern to them though, he was a wildcard, would he side with his brother or father? Would they step in? Tobirama asked the question that none of them could bring themselves to ask. "How are you alive father?"

"You should know, you developed the jutsu". They all knew what he was talking about, the kage bunshin no jutsu, was it really so powerful that the former Senju Chief was able to trick everyone into thinking he was dead?

He looked over to Madara unsure of what to do at this point. "So Tobirama will you continue to protect this traitor or side with me and help me destroy him and the Uchiha's?" That put everyone on alert and they watched the red-eyed Senju carefully. Madara would not allow Hashirama to die, at least not by anyone else's hands but his own.

Tobirama sighed then "It is unfortunate for you father, but I am loyal to the Senju Chief and since you faked your death and left the clan you no longer hold the title of Chief, he does".

That was a relief to know, he wasn't supposed to use his Sharingan and he didn't know what would happen if he did and fighting against two Senju's without his Sharingan was a death sentence. Butsuma sighed talking in a bored tone. "That's a pity, I'll have to kill the both of you and then I'll be forced to take another wife to make a new heir".

He pulled out his Katana again and this time he created two more clones and rushed at them. Fortunately for them, Sakura caught him unaware again and kicked him from the side, all three of him went flying into a tree.

He hadn't known that she was capable of that, now he wondered if maybe Madara had gotten everything wrong about the night he'd been taken.

Sakura rushed herself towards the Senju and he caught her by the throat easily and threw her towards a boulder, he heard a sickening crack as she hit the boulder and knew that her skull was cracked.

He went to check on her but was stopped by Madara. "That shinobi is not a threat to us, the Senju is" In the corner of his eye though he watched as Sakura stood up unsteadily and from her cloak, he watched as a black pole came out.

The Senju stood up and leaned against the tree and they all knew he wouldn't survive the four of them. He chuckled though and in a blink a black rod had pierced his shoulder and then another pierced his other shoulder. He turned towards Sakura who was holding a black rod on her side and waiting, her killing intent strong as she walked over towards her intended.

Butsuma may have been pinned to a tree but he wasn't giving up that easily as he pushed through the rods. "You may kill me, but it won't matter, I've paid good money to make sure that the Senju line stays pure and they'll keep coming until your dead Hashirama" with that Sakura threw her rod at him and this one was dead center in his brain.

The woods were quiet save for Sakura's steps as she walked over to the dead Senju and began pulling out the black rods, they disappeared before they could hit the ground, the one in the brain, she saved that one for last, the sound it made as she pulled it out a squelching sound as she moved it around trying to dislodge it, made his stomach twist in disgust. That one was thrown behind her too and it disappeared just as quickly as the others. She grabbed the Senju's body only to watch as the head severed itself from the body, he shuddered and Sakura seemed to ignore it as she bent down and grabbed the head with one hand while tossing the body over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and his eyes widened, that body had to be twice her weight and twice her size. _'Holy fuck'. _

She didn't even give them any attention and began to walk away only to stop when Madara threw a kunai at her and she blocked it with her own kunai. "Madara!" Hashirama hissed as he tried to hold his brother back. "They are not a threat". Tobirmama though seemed to think otherwise. "He could be taking the body to the exchange master on the borders of Hi no kuni ... Is he not a threat then brother? Shouldn't we allow Madara-_san _here to give our father, our kinsmen the opportunity to be give a proper funeral?"

Sakura was gone already though and as he blinked so was Madara. He turned his attention back to Tobirama. "Must you open your mouth?" Tobirama surprised him though. "I want to know what other things _she _is capable of". Hashirama turned his attention to them then. "_She!" _He looked back towards where Madara had chased after Sakura. "Tobirama! How could you?" Hashirama didn't bother waiting for a response as he followed after Madara and Sakura.

He looked over to the Senju heir, wondering just how much he knew about Sakura. "So you've spoken with her, the woman?" The white haired Senju gave him his attention. "The witch, yes and I suppose she's the one that saved you? I can only assume, I watched her heal others on the battlefield". He knew about Sakura, but he didn't know her name, that was good, he couldn't let him have her.

"She's ours". He actually made the demon smirk. "No, she's not". _'Shit' _How did he know? Or was he just guessing, no he knew, somehow the demon fucking knew and he wanted her.

Sakuras body flew towards them and Tobirama was quick to catch her, Sakura was quicker as she kicked her foot up and jumped onto the Senju's shoulders, her thighs wrapping around his neck and twisting. There was a soft pop and Tobiramas body fell to the floor just in time as Madara and Hashirama came back to the clearing. The two out of breath but Madara looked excited, very excited.

Had Sakura been fighting against both of them? His eyes widened as he watched Sakura stand up from the floor and Madara rushed at her with his katana and Sakura did the same, but her killing intent was surprising. He watched as Sakura blocked and parried with her katana while at the same time kicking and punching and elbowing Madara. He took every hit and kick and attack with a masochistic smile and threw everything back at her and she took it as if she was a man.

Hashirama dragged Tobirama to where he stood and the Senju Chief turned towards him expectantly. "Aren't you going to stop him?" He turned his attention from the fight to the waiting Senju. "Oh no I can't take Madara, I'm not nearly as strong as him especially now that I can't use my Sharingan". The Senju looked angry then as he pulled at his hair like a tempered two year old. "Are you kidding me!" He stomped towards the fighting shinobi and got in between them, only Sakura slid beneath him and pulled his ankle and threw him at Madara as if he was nothing more than a Shuriken.

He knew his eyes were wide just then, as he watched the two men go threw the trees, Madara came to faster then dragging Hashirama. "You idiot, I can handle this on my own!" "Shut up Madara!" It was apparent that Madara was not going to let up on this fight, he was enjoying it way too much. He should tell him that she was a woman, but if he stopped fighting her she'd get away ... again.

Sakura was going to walk away just then with the two of them distracted with their bickering and then Madara saw it, and he growled, Sharingan bright and spinning at the realization that Sakura was walking away.

"Coward!" He ran towards her and a part of him knew that he'd have to stop Madara somehow before he actually killed her. He looked to Hashirama then his legs crossed, his eyes closed as he started doing handsigns. "Are you not going to help him?" "I am, Madara is relentless ... I'll have to stop her before he can kill her and he's a good distraction".

Chakra oozed from Hashirama then and he watched as wood appeared from all sides of the clearing and slither like a snake towards Sakura, it wrapped around her ankles and wrist, locking her in place before finally wrapping around her neck. He could hear the sound of her wheezing trying to breath. "Your going to kill her!" Hashirama opened his eyes then and stood up. Madara turned to them then angrily. "I had him!" He shook his head as Hashirama patted his shoulder and walked ahead of him towards the two. "No you didn't".

He shook his head at Madara then as he walked over to Sakuras imprisoned form, the hood covering everything up. "Oh Madara". Madara looked on the verge of pouting at the fact they had taken his kill. "It's a good thing Hashirama-san stepped in, he saved you from breaking a very important law". Madara looked stumped then as he looked back towards Sakura. He turned his attention towards Hashirama. "Is it safe?" Hashirama nodded his head. "Yes, it's very safe". He released the jutsu and Sakura's body almost fell before Madara caught her.

Her hood fell revealing dark green hair and he blinked owlishly, green like the leaves, was it Sakura? "You see Madara" Hashirama started as Madara removed the mask. "He's a woman".

Her skin was covered in blood, sweat and dirt but there was no doubt that it was Sakura. He looked over at his brother and noticed he was staring at her in a way he hadn't seen him stare at anyone before. That was good, that was very good. "That is the woman that healed me brother". Madara snapped his attention back towards him then before looking over at Sakura before he picked her up in his arms and stood up. "Let's get back home, she's bleeding from the head and I think she has a stomach wound as well". He nodded his head.

"Hashirama will you be joining us?" Madara asked as he looked back over to the Senju who was staring at his fathers body. He didn't answer and they both looked at the Eldest Senju's dead body. He looked back over at Madara who looked down at Sakura before looking back towards the Senju Chief.

"Nobody can know she killed him and your clan can't find out that he hadn't died that day on the battlefield ... The Uchiha Clan can ensure this". Hashirama nodded his head. "I know".

Madara turned to him then. "Get his body and we'll make sure the others know too dispose of it properly". He nodded his head. "Of course!" Hashirama walked away from his fathers body and focused on putting Tobiramas body on his shoulder. "I don't know how my brother will feel at being taken to the Uchiha compound ... Perhaps I should leave him here". Madara shrugged his shoulders. "Then leave him here". Hashirama looked over at his brother then. "Or perhaps I should put him in a very uncomfortable position ... Yes that sounds much better!"

They walked towards the Uchiha Compound and Madara turned to him as he slipped Sakura's hood back on her covering her face up. "Next time be a little more vocal about the situation Izuna". He looked over to his brother. "I did try to tell you ... although I also couldn't let her get away again so I was planning on stopping you before it got too far".

Madara looked down at Sakura again. "Do you know her name?" "It's Sakura". Madara didn't stop staring at her. "Sakura huh". He nodded his head then. "Madara". He looked over to him again. "We can't let anyone hurt her". Madara nodded his head. "I agree". They made their way to the gates and Madara stopped and hounded out orders.

"The Senju's will be here with us, they are allowed to come and go as they please" Madara pulled out the scroll with the armistice signed. "Give this to the Elders, and have the healers in my chambers immediately". Madara then looked down at the dead Senju, and he let go of him. "And make sure that his body is destroyed, no remains are to be left". The Shinobi nodded their heads before disappearing.

They continued their trek to the main house where their kinsmen were fixing parts of the house, many had stopped and stared at the sight of the Senju's in their compound, their home.

Madara stopped at an empty room and looked over at Hashirama. "He can stay in there, I'll make sure the healers have him looked over". Hashirama nodded his head as he placed his brother in the room carefully before sliding the shoji screen shut.

They didn't even make it to Madara's rooms before the healers surrounded them. Madara batted them away as he walked into his room and had the screen shut, his brother looked over at him and he knew that nobody could hear what was to be said in the room, quickly he started to place seals onto the walls in order to make it soundproof and turned around just in time to watch as Madara placed Sakura onto his bed then and turned towards the healers. "She is to live do you understand". They nodded their heads too terrified to say anything to him.

The moment the healers began to remove Sakuras clothing though everything changed, the healers stopped moving instantly and he looked over at Madara and Hashirama as the healers turned towards them.

"Madara-sama, the girl has no wounds" One of Madara's brows lifted in question "What do you mean she has no wounds? There was a noticeable hole in her stomach earlier" The healer only shook there head. "I don't know sir, the blood is fresh and her clothing is torn through as well but she has no wounds to be seen" The three of them moved forward to look at what the healers were looking at. They'd removed Sakura's cloak and placed a small blanket atop her chest and another was used to cover her hips and legs covering her modesty while they had begun to work.

What was intriguing though was that the area that had been covered in blood, the place where the Senju had stabbed her was stained with her blood but smooth, very smooth.

Hashirama moved then, with a wet cloth in his hands he ran it over the blood and revealed smooth, peach colored unmarred skin, he dipped the towel into the basin once more before wringing it out and moved the cloth over her head where he knew she had cracked her skull and blood matted the corners of her temple.

... Nothing. Hashirama stepped back again. "By the gods, I've never seen anyone heal in such a way". He and his brother turned towards the Senju Chief as Madara questioned him. "Don't you heal just the same?" Hashirama shook his head. "No" He looked over at them carefully before he continued. "It's hard to describe how it works ... but the downside to healing is that I need to rest after using it for extreme wounds". He nodded his head towards Sakura. "A wound in that spot would surely destroy organs, muscles ... A head wound" He pointed at her forehead. "Is even more complicated when healing and tiring, bone, especially of the skull is tiring on me".

He looked away from Sakura's form. "My blood is ... _different_ ... Nobody in my clan, not even Tobirama someone who shares the same parents can heal like I can"

Madara shook his head. "Doesn't matter, we'll figure things out after she wakes up". Hashirama nodded as well. "It would be best to seal her, before that happens though, she may not have been intent on killing us ... me at least ... "

He snapped his head towards his brother, he too did not seem to like the idea. "Madara we can't". Hashirama folded his arms "She's a woman Madara, if others were to find out that her chakra is not sealed it could get very bad for her". Madara sighed as he stepped towards Sakura and he moved in front of her, Madara's eyes widened. "Izuna?" He shook his head.

"Madara I promised her we wouldn't hurt her". Madara rubbed at his neck. "Izuna, sealing her will protect her". He refused to move. "She saved my life, she used her chakra, her unsealed chakra to save my life". Madara breathed out hard as he looked over at Hashirama.

"I'm sorry Hashirama, this is something I will not do". He relaxed at Madara's words and stepped out of the way. Madara looked over at the healers. "Clean her up". The nodded as they swarmed Sakura again.

"Madara-sama". Again they turned towards the healers. They lifted Sakura's arm gently as they showed him a golden bracelet. It looked like a claw of some sort. Hashirama moved forward. "Let me see that". The healer looked over at Madara and he nodded his head in consent and the healer removed it.

Time seemed to stand still then the moment the bracelet was removed from Sakura's wrist and they heard a groan escape her, her chakra began leaking quickly out and the killing intent coming from it was nearly unbearable.

Hashirama looked over to him and Madara and they couldn't stop him. His chakra was swirling as his fingers glowed as he grabbed her arm. "Madara stop him!" Madara sighed then and they smelt the burning of flesh, there was a painful groan and he turned his attention to watch as Sakura's eyes groggily opened.

"My chakra". She struggled and tried to pull herself away from Hashirama, his gut twisted again as he looked at Madara whom seemed stuck. Sakura continued to struggle as Hashirama attempted to grab her other arm from her and she continued through the grogginess. "No!"

Hashirama grabbed her other arm finally and he heard her crying as he did the last seal on her wrist and she screamed. "No! My chakra! Give me back my chakra!" Hashirama immediately pressed on the temple of her forehead as he put her back to sleep, laying her back down on the bed. Hashirama stepped away from the bed and looked down at the golden bracelet.

The Senju looked at the cuff slightly curious before he handed it to Madara, he turned it over carefully inspecting it. "This ... Is the work of the Ninso".

The Ninso? He snapped his neck back towards Sakura but her body was hidden behind the healers, he looked back to Madara. "Are you sure?" Madara nodded his head as he turned around and began to open a medicine cabinet, looking through the drawers he until he found the one he was looking for, reaching in he pulled out a golden cuff as well. Different in style but he turned it over as he walked over to him with the two bracelets.

"The outside of the bracelets are smooth, but the inside has a broken sort of design, that comes from the stone they use". Hashirama looked on in awe. "How do you know it's from the Ninso?" Madara put the bracelet back in the cabinet. "That bracelet was given to the Uchiha from the Ninso long ago as a payment for protecting their temple. That's been in our possession for a century at least".

Hashirama nodded his head in understand and he was surprised, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been shown that bracelet or told about how it came to the Uchiha.

"Although" Madara had a contemplative look on his face as he turned Sakura's bracelet over in his hands, his Sharingan activated. "This bracelet was infused with the Ninso chakra and if you look hard enough you can even see the seal work that they used on it".

Hashirama looked questioning. "Why would they use seals?" Madara tilted his head as he turned over the bracelet again before looking back to where the healers were cleaning up Sakura. "To suppress something".

Hashirama didn't seem pleased with that answer. "What should we do with her then?" Madara shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure". He pleaded with his brother though. "Madara I please we can't let any harm come to her". Madara looked up to him as he smiled softly. "Don't worry Izuna, I won't let anything happen to the girl that saved your life". He nodded his head in thanks. It was relieving to hear.

Madara straightened out his form before he placed the bracelet on the nightstand. "We need to finish our business Hashirama, please if you will follow me". Hashirama nodded his head as he followed Madara out of the room.

Looking back to see that the healers were finishing up on Sakura he to followed his brother, his mood considering was in good spirit, now that Sakura was there with them, he had a better chance at helping her and Madara. He looked over the green hair, he could have sworn though she had pink hair, and the green it looked ... Off. He shrugged his shoulders, he'd figure it out eventually. Either way she was here and that was the part that really mattered.

* * *

The brain was an interesting organ, especially the sensory cortex of the brain, the occurrence of hallucinations were not something she was unused to anymore. She'd imagined seeing many of her former nakama, especially Naruto, considering the world didn't lack in blonde haired blue eyed boys it was easy to confuse someone for the energetic child. Hallucinations though had always fascinated her though a simple hit to the right part of the frontal lobe could completely warp the reality, a persons visual stimulation mixing the past and the present. ... Or in her case the future was truly fascinating to her.

Her body ached, and she groaned at the kinks in her body. She didn't know how or when, but her target had changed from a simple assassin to someone much more dangerous. The target was still the same, they were after Hashirama Senju and she couldn't let anyone hurt him as they seemed determined to.

Somehow he'd found them, she'd been attempting to put up a border to protect Senju Hashirama from this new assassin, but he was smart he'd figured her out, figure out her weakness quickly when he realized that she was protecting the Senju Chief. Because of that she got found out, she'd fought him head on trying to keep him occupied long enough, hoping to all the gods that he wouldn't sense the four chakra signatures below them, but he did and he gave her what could have been a deathly blow and she'd fell off the cliff, quickly healing herself as she did so.

In a rather coincidental moment she was falling again and she was falling fast as she did, the momentum from the fall would definitely kill her before she could heal. If she had been one Kaguya's kindred she would have been able to survive the fall, but alas her physiology was greatly differed compared to them. In a quick moment she grabbed onto the assassin and switched them, he couldn't survive. ... He did though and then she knew she was in big trouble.

Normal human anatomy was nowhere near the genetic anomaly that was the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, Ōtsutsuki progeny had a very hard skeletal exterior, even their muscles were stronger. Normal humans wouldn't be able to handle the same things that and Uchiha or Senju was put through. So when he had stood up before she could gather her thoughts correctly after falling from the cliffside she knew then that this was no going to be an easy kill.

That last though bounced through her head when his Samurai mask fell apart in front of her, mentally she groaned when she remembered the Senju's face. Outwardly she actually groaned, she was so fucked if she did something stupid during her blackout, she didn't remember anything after she had been thrown into the boulder.

She did remember one thing though, _Uchiha Madara_, he was there, his skin that horribly grey color she remembered so well, that manic look in his eyes, that wild white hair, the horns, the darkness that spilled from him. She was back in that cesspool of blood and bodies, the screams and cries echoing all over, she could feel the death clinging to her skin and she lost it.

All she could remember was that she needed to kill him, kill him before he destroyed everything, kill him before he invoked her.

Just like usual though, she was waking up from that horrible nightmare, and for a single second everything was perfect and blissful and she was ignorant to her past and present, her mind contently hazy. Slowly though that gently warmth, the incredible feeling of well-being, began to slip from her entire being as she came back to herself and her surroundings.

The soft warm furs that surrounded her body and flooded her with heat were the first things she noticed, the very soft and firm and comfortable futon beneath her was the second and the pillows that her head seemed to sink into smelled very, very .. manly. Just the scent made her toes tingle in the most pleasant way and she gasped as opened her eyes to see elderly men looking down at her.

They all looked very similar to one another, dark eyes, dark hair, her mind snapped to attention as she quickly sat up as the thought was at the very tip of her conscious.

_Uchiha! ... _They were whispering amongst each other and one had turned away and disappeared from her sight as the elderly men talked amongst themselves, not bothering to even acknowledge she was wide awake. Looking around the room, she noted the everything was impeccably clean, the warm red wood was polished and dusted so fine she could see her reflection almost, and on the far side of the wall, was a collection of weapons that looked very familiar, especially the kama and gunbai and her heart lurched in her throat as she looked at the tomoe's that were painted on the gunbai, but it was the red armor, shined like everything else, but worn out with dents and scratches and she knew she needed to get out of there immediatly.

A screen slid open and all sounds in the room stopped and she swore her heart jumped out of her chest as the elderly Uchiha's moved out of the way for one Uchiha Madara.

... _She was so fucked._

he wore a a long black long sleeved turtle neck with matching shinobi pants that were too bloused into white wrappings. She sucked in a breath as he made his way towards her with sharingan eyes bright and solely focused on her. Looking away she looked around the room for anyway out of the room with her life intact.

"Sakura-san!" She turned wide eyes towards the voice that came from behind Uchiha Madara and watched as Uchiha Izuna moved passed him with Senju Hashirama right behind him as well.

... _She was triple fucked. _

"Sakura-san?" Izuna questioned her once more and she blinked unsure of what to do in this situation. Her hands under the blankets had found a kunai and she gripped it, hoping no one would realize her hands. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart, she needed to focus. Not sure how to question, or what question to begin with her mouth moved with her racing thoughts. "Izuna-san ... How - What am I doing here?"

Izuna sighed and it almost sounded as though he was relieved and he turned away from her then as he looked over at his brother and she didn't know what was silently being said but she knew something was being spoken between the two Uchiha's.

Before she could get a grip on the reality of the situation she was thrown for a loop once more as Uchiha Madara moved in front of her his bright Sharingan eyes devouring the sight of her as if she was a little lamb and he was a starved wolf. In that moment she realized how very, _very_ nude she was and she averted her eyes away from the Uchiha Patriarch to see her clothes very neatly folded on a desk very, _very _far away from her. She used her free hand to clutch the blankets tighter to her.

There was a sound and she whipped her head back to watched with wide eyes as Uchiha Madara and Izuna got on their knees before her and bowed all the way down, the elderly Uchiha's doing the same as well.

Madara's deep voice resonated through the room. "I Uchiha Madara am truly grateful towards you Sakura-san, you have saved my heir, my brother, and for that the we the Uchiha clan are indebted to you".

She blinked, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, especially in this situation because never would she have believed she would see Uchiha Madara on his hands and knees bowing to her. Looking up at Senju Hashirama she noticed that he looked as dumbstruck as she did just then and she looked back to Madara and Izuna who seemed to be waiting for something from her and she wasn't sure what was happening.

She really wasn't sure what to say in that moment. "..." She shut her mouth unsure what she needed to say and realized that they should not be kneeling before her like she was some sort of royalty or deity. She sighed "Please standup, your gratitude is appreciated, but you owe me nothing".

Madara's head snapped up quickly and he met her eyes with his own and she watched as he deactivated his Sharingan looking up at her with large glassy black eyes that reminded her of two black diamonds, they were so deep and dark, like pools of an endless abyss. She looked away, it was not appropriate to think on such lines, she focused on the fur blanket that covered her and listened as the other Uchiha's in the room followed Madara's que and stood up as well.

Madara's voice as deep and smooth as he spoke. "Leave us". She watched out the corner of her peripheral as one of the elderly Uchiha's moved towards Madara and spoke. "Madara-sama that is most inappropriate ... at least let one of us stay out of proprieties sake" He didn't let his eyes leave her and she clutched the blanket tighter around her "I said leave". The bowed their heads and left the room quickly shutting the screen behind them.

She found no comfort in the silence that stretched through the room and less comfort at the way Uchiha Madara was staring at her.

It was Izuna that broke the silence as he sighed and handed her a cup. "I'm glad to see you again Sakura-san". She looked into the cup and looked up at him, he seemed genuine but she knew that she couldn't guarantee that. "I see you changed your hair".

She wasn't sure how to approach this situation and with Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama watching as they were, especially now that the Uchiha Patriarch was watching her with his Sharingan activated again.

Izuna sighed as he placed his cup down. "You're not in a very talkative mood are you? ... Well then how are you feeling?"

It was a wonder to her how she hadn't even done it, maybe it was because she woke up in such an unfamiliar setting, maybe it was because she took a nasty blow to the head, but she realized that she hadn't done her usual checkover on herself. It was a morning habit of hers to make sure that nothing was wrong with her, time-travel and having an alien sealed inside you could have dire consequences if not done right and considering how things had happened to get her there she was a bit paranoid about those consequences befalling her body.

She had the worst headache she'd had in a long time though, like that time after she'd passed the chunnin exams and drank way too much sake with Ino and her body ached as so similar to when she'd first started training with Tsunade.

Calling forth on her chakra to erase the pain was when she realized something was very wrong and she closed her eyes trying once more to call on her chakra. The more she tried to call on her chakra the more drained she felt and she struggled to figure out what was wrong. Her heart was beating rapidly and she was sure she was on the very of a panic attack.

"Sakura-san are you alright?" She turned to look at him as she gripped the kunai tighter in her hand. What happened to her chakra? "My chakra ... I can't feel my chakra .. where is my chakra?" She tried to control her breathing, tried to control the beating of her heart but it was no use. Izuna looked very guilty just then and he turned away from her and looked over at Madara.

Hashirama finally took a step towards her and he took the cup that Izuna had tried to give it to her and held it out for her as he spoke carefully. "Your chakra is blocked Sakura-san, I sealed it in order to protect you and everyone else, if you can comply with us I may be convinced to unseal it for you".

There was something in the Senju's voice that pissed her the fuck off right then, she wasn't sure if it was how he talked as if he was in control of everything or if it was he deemed himself the right to take her chakra away from her.

He sealed her chakra and if she played nice with them he might give it back ... No, that wasn't how it worked. Nobody stole her chakra.

She didn't care if she was nude, all she cared about was getting her chakra back and this ... _man _was the only one that would be able to unseal it, she grasped the kunai tight under the blankets as she tried to think logically, but the voices in her head only saw red. "You blocked my chakra?" The Senju in the room seemed to be backing away from her and she looked up at him finally and felt white hot rage run through her veins.

"Who are you to have such audacity to think you can seal _my _chakra" The voice was hers, but the darkness that surrounded her was not, she looked to her wrist, her bracelet was gone and all she saw was the burnt flesh in the markings of the seals he used. ... No, that was not how this worked.

She lunged with the kunai in her hands and watched as Izuna pushed Hashirama out of the way and Madara grasped her body and held her to his, officially blocking her from the Senju. "Unseal me this instant you ignorant fool!" She screamed and threw the kunai just missing the Senju who looked so terrified in that moment. "Give me back my chakra!"

Madara grasped her hands then and held them towards his chest, his Sharingan spinning and she didn't back down. His voice was deep and rumbled through his chest so harshly she could feel it against the furs that covered her. "Calm down!"

"She's crazy Madara do some hypnoses or whatever and make her not want to kill me!" Hashirama's voice pissed her off and with Madara's body standing in front of her she couldn't see him, but that didn't matter.

She kicked and attempted to twist of out his grip but he held still and didn't flinch, he looked smugly down at her, his eyes practically glowing with mirth and she seethed. "When I get my chakra back I'm going to wipe that look off your face".

his head tilted to the side with the damnable smirk of his as his eyes stared brightly at her. "Is that so?" She kicked again and it didn't bug him and she twisted more and then decided to knee him in the groin, he bent down with a groan and his hands loosed on hers and she saw that he had a tanto on his back she unsheathed it and hit him across the nape of his neck with the hilt before she threw it across the room at the terrified Senju.

He ducked and she missed and before she could cross the room towards him she was grabbed once more by Madara and he held her arms at her back against his chest she continued to struggle against him."Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" She screamed and Madara held onto her tight. He seethed and tightened his hold on her "Calm down woman!"

Hashirama cried as he inched his way out of the room. "Madara use your Sharingan on her!" "It doesn't work like that you moron!" Madara used more force on her and he twisted her arm back behind her in a very horrible way as he pushed her further down to the ground. "I said calm down!" She screamed, if he bent it back anymore it would brake.

"Let me go!" Madara ignored her as he ordered his brother. "Izuna get the guards now!", _'Tobirama!Thank god!'_ She gulped as she focused on the pain in her shoulder, moving it just a certain way she heard the pop and felt Madara stiffen above her and he eased his weight off her and let go of her arm very quickly. She took that moment to elbow him in the face with her other arm and he fell back quickly and she grasped the blanket around her then and ran to the other side of the room.

A very terrified Hashirama stood in the room ajar with Izuna and before she could cross the threshold to get to him her body hit an invisible barrier. She fell to the ground, she glared from her position on the ground and watched as Tobirama emerged from the other side of the shoji screen. Hashirama looked relieved as he walked over to her. She breathed hard as she glared at him.

"Undo this seal now" Hashirama bent down to her level then, his face completely devoid of emotion and she flinched. "How very intriguing". She didn't like that and she felt Madara standing behind her.

With Tobirama, Izuna and Hashirama on one side of the seal and Madara blocking her in on the other side she felt a little bit of that raw anger and hate fade and being replaced with some semblance of understanding. She looked down at her wrist again ignoring the burns of the seals on them and realizing that her bracelet was missing.

"Where is my bracelet?" She didn't look up and focused her eyes on the wood floors, she heard Madara moving around behind her and she kept forced herself not to panic. The horrible feelings that were raging inside her may have dissipated a bit, but they were still there, making her feel horrible and clouding her better judgement. She closed her eyes as she felt Madara crouch next to her and she breathed in hard.

Her arm hurt so _fucking _much when she realized she couldn't move it, she remembered she dislocated it in order to get away from him. Grasping her arm with her other hand she felt the pop and the pain and it felt a little bit better, but it still hurt a lot. Especially as she reached out with it towards Madara who was holding out her bracelet for her.

The feeling of the cold metal against her skin was reassuring and then she felt relief as all those feelings, all _her _feelings completely melted away with the bracelets effects starting to take effect. The cloud in her mind was moving quickly out of her and she knew that she was in a very horrible position.

She didn't look at any of them as she spoke, hoping to every god out there that she could leave this situation quickly. "I apologize for my behavior, if you will now I would appreciate it if you'll be so generous as to do undo my seal, I am no threat to any of you and am regretful for how appalling I've acted".

Madara sighed as he stood up and Hashirama stayed crouched across from her. "So she has manners" she flinched, she really felt horrible for how she had acted. "I am truly sorry, but you are a woman and as such I must abide by the laws". So Senju Hashirama, _'The God of Shinobi'_ did not believe in allowing women to use chakra, how very sad. She looked down at her wrist, she'd have to break it, she was sure she could, but it would take a lot of energy and time.

"Hashirama undo the seals" Her neck snapped to Madara then and she was sure her surprise showed on her face, Madara wasn't looking at her thankfully, his attention was clearly on Hashirama. She turned back to look at him, hoping he'd listen to the older Uchiha.

Hashirama was staring at Madara though and it was like the two were talking to each other, a silent conversation that no one else was allowed to be part of. Tobirama though was obviously not going to let his brother listen to the Uchiha. "Don't unseal her, you can't trust her".

She was livid as she glared at the white haired man. "I beg your pardon? I healed your men the last time I saw you!" Tobirama shrugged his shoulders. "You also saved the Uchiha, your alliances are to no on and that cannot be trusted". She glared as she looked back down at the floor she needed to calm down, she needed to think a way out of this.

Carefully as not to garner the attention of the three men arguing above her she looked over the barrier ward that had been created to stop her, following the feel of chakra that was woven into the seals. It was a single barrier, the rest of the room was not sealed, a quick barrier seal placed up with no contingency plans.

The other three walls didn't have any seals from what she could tell, but getting to it was the issue, she didn't have any chakra to help her fight Madara or help her impair the barrier either. She looked down at her bracelet, she didn't like feeling out of control and she didn't like the unbridled rage that over came her, but in this instance she had no other choice. The only way she'd be able to get one up on Madara was by surprise and surprise only, but to surprise him was the problem.

There was only one way and to that she definitely knew she didn't want to do that but it seemed she didn't have a choice. She'd have to play at their weaknesses and the weakness of these men was that none of them wanted to actually hurt her, she was a woman. She was a woman and she needed to show them she understood that.

Adjusting her body she pretended not to feel all the eyes of the four shinobi on her as she reached the child pose with her arms outstretched, fingertips just touching the barrier, she breathed carefully as she tempered her feelings. "My Lords, I beg of you to release me, I am of no use to you as I am but a simple girl". There was a snort from one of the men above her and she grit her teeth. This had to work.

_"Hashirama undo the seal now", "Tobi I really don't like the idea of hurting her", "If you don't undo the seal on her I will burn the armistice", "Don't threaten him with something we all know you won't do Madara"_

They were arguing again and carefully, just moved her hand to her wrist and slowly slid off the bracelet, she felt the twist in her gut as the anger flooded her, she felt Madara'd body stiffen above her and she felt his eyes move over her and she knew he figured it out.

... It was working. Madara was quick as he reached down and grasped her wrist and pulled her up, she was just as quick as she used his own body weight against him and threw him over her shoulder, his head making a harsh sound as he hit the barrier, she stood up then and reached up to where the tanto was stuck in the wood and pulled it out. She looked down at Madara who glared at her as he stood up and she kicked at his legs, making sure that she hit the kneecap hard enough to break it before she kicked him again against the barrier.

Quickly she turned to the other screen and started towards it, only to watch as another barrier was placed up before she could make it out, she growled as she turned towards where Izuna was pulling Madara out of the room, they'd dropped the barrier and she ran towards it, the second Madara was pulled all the way into the room, Tobirama put the barrier up and she screamed as she hit against it.

"Let me out of here!" She grabbed every piece of furniture she could get her hands on and threw it at all the barriers in the room.

* * *

He watched as she tore the room apart, _his _room, it was such a beautiful sight to watch as she lost all control, she was beautiful, odd looking but beautiful. Her eyes, he'd never seen such large green eyes before and her face was attractive, her hair, he could smell the henna that saturated her hair to give it that green look and knew that she was covering up the natural color of her hair. Still though, it was taking every ounce of control he had in him not to tear down the barrier himself and ravage the woman, broken knee or not, he wanted her. Especially with the way she looked wrapped in his blankets, just the sight of her had his blood boiling.

The realization that the small woman that was destroying his home had gone toe-to-toe with him and Hashirama in a fight was breathtaking, he'd never met a person that had excited him in such a way. She was small though and it was such a contradiction to the destruction she was creating, having her in his arms during the trek back made him realize she was very small, possibly underfed by how skinny her face was.

Izuna shut the screen blocking his sight of her as he called for a healer. "She broke your knee". Yes she did, and it hurt a lot. "She also dislocated her shoulder just to get out of my hold". Izuna shook his head. "None of which would have happened if she hadn't had her chakra sealed". They all looked towards Hashirama whom had been sitting in the corner of the room, trying to avoid them at all cost.

"It's the law! And you felt the killing intent coming off her when they removed the bracelet off her". Izuna was quick to defend his savior though. "It was unnecessary she healed our people and yours someone who does that has no intent to hurt anyone".

Tobirama was quick to defend his brothers choice. "It's still the law, women are to be sealed, considering how underfed she looks I assume she's a stray, it's the only logical explanation as to how she'd gone for so long without being sealed ... but, with her looks ... stray or not, she's attractive enough to marry, I assume she's of age, surely someone would have noticed an attractive girl without seals ... which brings up more questions. Not only is she unsealed, but she's trained in how to use her chakra and how to fight. Someone had to train her which means that she's not really a stray at all, and someone knew there was a girl that wasn't sealed and didn't seal her themselves".

He took in a breath as the healer set to work on his knee, he'd be out of work for months until it healed properly, he looked back towards his room where he could still hear the destruction and cries. She healed Izuna, a broken knee cap was nothing compared to what had happened to Izuna. "Hashirama". The man in the corner looked over to him.

"Unseal her now". Hashirama looked terrified at the though, he sighed. "She broke my knee I won't be able to do much with a broken knee until it heals, which takes months ... but she can heal and from what I can understand she can heal better than anyone any of us have ever come across".

"Maybe we should wait till she calms down ... or perhaps when she decides she doesn't want to kill me". Tobirama shook his head. "He can wait for his knee cap to heal, besides he's signed the armistice he doesn't need to be fighting anyone for now". He sighed he really hated the red-eyed man. "Yes I signed the armistice, but it is not a peace treaty, and until the peace treaty has been signed there is still the possibility of me to decline and walk away from this". Another though occurred to him as he looked over to his bedroom.

"And Tobirama, I'll walk-away and take _her _with me as well". While he was sure the Senju's had healers, and he knew they were much better than Uchiha healers, he knew that none were at all comparable to the woman that was locked away in his bedroom and Tobirama was not an idiot, there was benefit to keeping her. If he walked away from the peace treaty and kept her to himself, his military powers would be stronger than even the Senju's, their healers couldn't bring people back from the brink of death and she could, she did.

Tobirama glared at him as he challenged him. "It's a blood seal, even if you were to keep her, you can't unseal her". Izuna stepped up though. "Sakura-san uses chakra to heal, which means that she can teach people how to use their own chakra to heal just as well as she can ... we don't need her to be unsealed to use her knowledge".

He liked the look Tobirama had as he considered their words, he decided to add more flames to the fire. "Even if it's a blood seal, I'm sure there's a way to unseal her, I may even be willing to make a treaty with another clan that's notorious for their sealing abilities, I know they do want to make a separate clan here on the mainlands, a piece of our land could be sacrificed if it would mean getting the seals off the girl".

Tobirama didn't like the idea he was giving him and he relented. "Hashirama take the seals off her now". "Why don't we wait till tomorrow, maybe she'll have calmed down by then?" He rolled his eyes, really the man was overreacting. He looked over to Izuna. "Talk to her". Izuna nodded his head as he walked back to the screen and opened it.

His room was wreaked from ceiling to floorboards and she sat in the very middle of it all. "Sakura-san?" Izuna called out her head snapped quickly towards them then and he knew she still wasn't calmed down. She just ran out of things to destroy.

"Sakura-san I wish to ask for your healing abilities ... for my brother". She scoffed, how un-lady like. "I'm not exactly in any sort of position to heal". "Hashirama-san has agreed to unseal you". She perked up at that. "Has he now?" Izuna nodded. Tobirama went to dismantle the barrier but he noticed the bracelet on the floor. "Stop". Tobirama growled at him. "Do you want her to heal you or not?" He ignored him.

"Put the bracelet on". She looked over to the bracelet and crawled carefully amongst the mess she made to get to it, he was not going to let her go near him again without that bracelet, it seemed it suppressed her anger which was something that was worth noting. She clasped it on her wrist and he watched as he looked back towards him with those large green eyes. "Grab a robe from one of the dressers as well". He couldn't have her in his blanket the entire time, it was too tempting. She closed the screen.

"I really think we should not do this, it's against the law". He rolled his eyes as he looked over to Hashirama, "Technically, the law dictates that Clan heads, elders, immediate family or husband are permitted too seal a woman's chakra, as we are neither we are breaking the law by sealing her". Hashirama's body straightened immediately.

"I never knew that". Of course he didn't he was an idiot, but he was a powerful idiot, there was no denying that. The screen slid back open and she stood wearing a dark blue kimono, it clashed horribly with the green of her hair. He really was curious about her hair, why color it? Was there a specific reason? She was attractive enough, surely the color of her hair wouldn't deter any man from her.

Tobirama undid the barrier and she was careful as she crossed the threshold, like a gazelle surrounded by lions she knew she had no way out. Hashirama gulped as he reached out towards her, her seals red and blistering quickly. Hashirama used his nails to cut his thumbs and slid the blood over her seals, imbedding his chakra and he could feel the chakra seep back into her body. He watched as she relaxed before she turned towards him. He could see the confidence in her eyes as she called up her chakra and her hands glowed green with her powers.

Gently she pushed her chakra into him and he flinched at the intrusion. She remained focused and he could feel the bone in his knee begin to mend together again. He tried to focus on how she was doing it, but the feel of her chakra was distracting. Clean and pure, it felt like breathing in all the good things in the world and just holding onto all of it. He locked eyes with her, those big green eyes that he'd dreamt about on a child with black hair.

Her eyes glowed the same color as her chakra and confidence and burned bright with passion and vitality that he was almost afraid it would burn him. The more he looked into her eyes though, the more he saw, and it was heartbreaking to see how much anguish turned in those eyes of hers.

Hashirama's voice rang clear in the fog though. "Madara stay focused". Because the Senju knew where his line of thoughts were going. She looked away from him and he did his best to focus on everything but her. Like a moth to a flame though, he couldn't help where his eyes wondered too.

Her skin was a perfect ivory with peach and rose undertones and her forehead was just a tide bit wide but complimented her very large almond shaped eyes that reminded him of a feline, her lashes long and thick and white like a feather. Her skin was smooth and her face heart shaped, her cheeks high and just slightly sunken in with a small straight and just barely upturned nose. Her lips were small, but full and pink and like her face resembled a heart. Her jaw was softly but noticeably sharp at the same time and bleed into a smooth neck that wasn't long but not at all short.

The robe covered her chest but the soft curves of her breast were noticeable enough to show that she was developed as a woman, they weren't small, possibly a bit larger than his own hands. The sash that was used to tie the robe was cut into a small thin waist and he could see the fold of where her hips were and they were shapely if the robe she was wearing was anything to go by. Her calves were showing though and they were strong and lean with small ankles and feet, good clean feet.

Tobirama was correct she was attractive enough to have been noticed by men. Especially with her face, it was very feminine, and elegant, very well-bred. Many traits men would want in children, his eyes went back to the folds where her hips were, shapely, very well-bred and could certainly carry a child with her strong hips. His eyes went to the rhombus shaped tattoo on the middle of her forehead.

It wasn't a tattoo though, but it looked like one, his eyes flicked over to Tobirama and noted his facial tattoos before looking back towards the purple rhombus. Certainly she had to be part of some clan or family, she was too well kept up with to not be. Heiresses were always well cared for, especially with the purpose of possibly marrying outside the clan. With a face like that, with those eyes, certainly someone would be missing her. Attractive women weren't single for long, attractive girls went faster, many men preferred a young wife and the younger the easier to groom.

A lock of green slid in front of her face and he grimaced, that hair though, it was long and thick and looked very healthy, but it was green, green like the leaves that covered the country they lived in.

... His eyes widened, it was a camouflage, she dyed her hair to camouflage her looks, her actual hair color and her face would surely garner a lot of attention, and even with the Sharingan he couldn't tell what her hair color really was. She did it to cover up who she really was. ... But the question was who was she? The theory of her being a stray was impossible with the more he looked at her.

Her chakra was receding from his body and he snapped his attention back to the current situation, watching as she dropped her hands to her side, she looked demure as she moved the hair out of her face as she spoke. "There, you're healed, but I do recommend resting for a few days". He moved his leg, paying careful attention to his knee and noticed that it was indeed healed. He looked over towards Hashirama and nodded his head, letting him know it was okay.

Before he could move though, Tobirama had grabbed her and lifted her up by her wrist and held onto them with a bruising strength, she screamed and kicked and he knew after having her do the same to him that it hurt a lot to be kicked by her. "I healed him like you said!" He stood up. "Tobirama what are you doing?" he could smell the burning of her skin and knew that it would be infected after this. He breathed in hard as he watched Tobirama thrown her into the room and put up the barrier before anyone could question him.

"What was that?" Hashirama was angry now, that didn't bode well for anyone. "She's a threat until we can prove otherwise, personally I think it's best if we kill her, but considering her lesser standing than us, it would be unwise to break that law". He watched as the screen rattled against her fist and knew there was no way she would ever trust them. "She wasn't a threat!" Hashirama was seething, he'd never seen the Senju chief lose his cool but it was obvious that was going to happen now.

"She was, besides that's not the point, we need to finish the talks and go back to our clan with the armistice". Ah that's what he wanted, he knew that if they didn't finish talking about the treaty that he'd back out and with the girl sealed Tobirama knew that he would indeed keep the girl close to the Uchiha Clan, especially if he promised to make sure nobody sealed her again. Her chakra was special to her and her ability to heal would be useful to the Uchiha Clan.

"Fine then, Izuna go get the maps and clean scrolls". Izuna didn't seem to want to move from his position next to the screen, his concern for the girl was evident, she did after all save his life. "Izuna". He nodded his head as he stood up before facing him. He could see the worry in his brothers eyes. He understood all to well, Tobirama could not be trusted not to kill the girl, she was a threat to him because she could heal and she had healed not just any Uchiha but the heir of the Uchiha. If talks didn't go well right now, Tobirama would kill her to keep anyone from being able to have something over the Senju.

They couldn't let her die though, she healed Izuna and for that they were indebted to her, a life for a life, they were her slaves in a sense.

Izuna understood and left the room to get the maps. "Logically, you understand that when this village is built, that along with the Uchiha the Hogoromo clan will follow as well which will be beneficial as they carry the title to the lands that border the Uchiha and Senju lands, which will mean we won't have to push them out of their lands or buy them out". Hashirama nodded his head in understanding.

"Yes, we will also be bringing in a piece of the Uzumaki clan from Uzushiogakure, as you stated earlier, they wish to place a part of their clan here on the mainland, something I think would be very beneficial to all of us, they are very knowledgeable and already understand much about how to build and maintain a village". A very good idea especially considering the Uzumaki clan was planning to marry into the Senju clan. A dangerous idea for him if he decided to back-out, the Hogoromo clan was strong and had the numbers, but the Uzumaki clan was stronger.

If he hadn't found their women lacking in the looks department, he would have made a proposal to the Uzumaki clan, he knew that the Chief had no male born heirs and had a bountiful amount of female daughters and nieces. A bad sign he personally thought another reason why he didn't make a proposal to the Uzumaki's when they'd reached out to him after his father had passed away. A man that births daughters has daughters that birth more daughters and Uchiha heirs created more heirs not daughters. He and Izuna were proof of this as they were the last standing of five boys and his father was the last standing of seven boys and his grandfather the last standing of ten boys. Uchiha heirs made Uchiha heirs.

The Senju's seemed to not care about that though if they were willing to marry into the female dominated clan. He wouldn't comment on that though.

"It's understandable that they'd want to come to the mainland, Uzushiogakure is far and trades are even tougher with how far they are". Hashirama nodded his head and Izuna stepped into the room with necessary items. He took the map and unrolled it. "The land we need to worry about is here, the east that borders the Senju and the Uchiha and covers the entirety that is where we want to resettle our clans here, but this is the Daimyo's lands, we'd have to buy it from him".

He heard Hashirama gulp and look over to Tobirama, he didn't like that look for some reason. Tobirama spoke up. "Considering, the Senju are bringing the man power and the healers, it's best that the Uchiha pay for the lands". Of course, he sighed, he'd heard the rumors, everyone had heard the rumors.

"The rumors are true then, the Senju coffers are barren aren't they?" Hashirama and Tobirama were silent he sighed. "Of course it's why you're marrying the Uzumaki, Ashina-san has too many daughters and is willing to pay other clans good money to take them off his hands, very good if what he offered me is anything compared to what he offered you". There was a soft noise and he straightened out, he knew exactly where that sound came from and he was not going to let her get him in that position again.

"The coffers aren't empty, we just don't see the need in buying the lands when we're bringing in everything else". He scoffed Tobirama was always trying to make sure everyone believed the Senju were sinless. "The Senju don't have as much men as the Hogoromo clan, whom out number the Uchiha and Senju together by thee to one, you only have healers and from the looks of it, I think the girl would much rather stick around the Uchiha clan if we made sure the two of you never went near her ... I'm sure she'd agree to it considering you two sealed her chakra".

"Then perhaps we should reconsider the treaty", "Wait, no Tobirama, don't say such things!", "We are being proven how greedy and ungrateful the Uchiha's truly are, I'm sure there are other clans that are willing enough to help". He rolled his eyes.

"You mean stupid enough, it's not my fault that you had an heir that everyone in Hi no Kuni knows spent the majority of his clans money on gambling and whores". Hashirama's mood darkened into a depressed stated as he huddled himself into a corner too mope and he rolled his eyes. "They were so beautiful and soft though, I couldn't resist".

There was a sigh and he looked up and watched as the ceiling board was slid and the woman's face appeared looking rather apathetic. "Honestly, did no one teach you how to manage money?" She sighed and she slipped down from her spot on the ceiling twisting like a cat, he noticed she changed back into her own clothes.

Without the robe he got an eyeful of her body, her flat stomach that tucked into good strong full hips that paired with good breast that were on ample display with the odd leather bindings she wore. Her pants were shinobi standard and nothing magical just as her sandals. Her thighs were more noticeable now and he saw how thick and strong they were.

As she walked she touched objects in the room, moving them and placing them back as she did so. "Next time you create a barrier, I suggest you come up with a contingency plan, but it's surprising that you didn't, never the less". Her back was straight and rigid and he could tell she didn't like how everyone was watching her. "So you're creating a peace treaty between your clans? Interesting ... any particular reason why?"

She turned her attention towards a book and placed it back down as she turned towards them. "Any particular reason why you're building a village together?" She cocked her head to the side then and she smiled. If they were any other shinobi he was sure they'd be fooled into believing her to be innocent, but she was up to something.

"Don't try to deny you need money, the Uchiha have it, and the Hogoromo and Senju do to, but it will still not be enough to buy the land from the Daimyo, you need more ... and I just happen to have money".

So she wasn't a stray after all, he looked her over, her clothing was tailored to her body and the material was expensive, it matched with her perfectly healthy skin and aristocratic looks. Hashirama piped up obviously just as suspicious as the rest of them. "You have money?" She nodded her head as she turned around and began to look through the things in the room again. "Oh yes I have a rather large amount of money ... but of course, I'm not willing to part with it without getting something in return". She held up her wrist as she turned towards them. "This comes off".

Tobirama was not one to take up an opportunity. "Payment first". She rolled her eyes, how very disrespectful, least it wasn't towards him. "Seals off first or this offer walk away".

Tobirama glared at her as he challenged her. "You wouldn't last long enough out there without your chakra". She nodded her head. "No, but I'd last long enough to make it to the capital and I'd make it far enough after that to speak with the daimyo and tell him about what you're planning ... and then, I'd last long enough to watch as your daimyo ordered you to undo the seals, because by then I'd have convinced him to make you do it and dear Tobirama-san are you capable of defying your precious daimyo-same?"

She had a wicked tongue and he wanted to taste it, she had cornered the Senju heir without even having to lift a finger. "My offer last for the next five seconds". She began putting on her cloak then and Hashirama stopped her. "Wait!" She slipped into her cloak and waited for him, tapping her long nails against her clothed bicep. "Tobirama undo her seals now!" She smiled with a knowing glint in her eyes at having defeated the shadow king that was Senju Tobirama.

Tobirama glared as he looked down at her and he noted she really was small even standing straight with her shoulders squared perfectly she was still a whole foot smaller than the Senju men, even he was shorter than them but nothing compared to her. What was attractive though was the fact that she didn't seem bothered by that little tidbit at all.

She sighed as her chakra came back to her and quickly he watched as the seals on her disappeared from her wrist and only unmarred ivory skin was left. He really wanted to know how she did that. Was she like Hashirama with special blood or was it something else entirely?

"Now girl, the money". She sighed again. "Give me a week and I'll have your money". He'd caught glimpsed over the years of Tobirama's rage, but never before had he witnessed it until this moment as he grabbed the girl up by her throat and held her there in the air. She didn't struggle instead she hit her fist against his forearms and he let go immediately. "Bitch!" She moved her hand to neck and he watched as the the bruise that had been beginning to form began to disappear just like the seals.

"Your really are a sourpuss". Tobirama then looked over to Hashirama with an incredulous look and Hashirama's mouth was wide open in awe before he fell to the ground laughing.

He knew it, Hashirama was insane. He stood up then and moved carefully towards her, Tobirama glaring at Hashirama who was laughing didn't seem to notice. Her neck turned in his direction and he really got to take in how short she was, he wasn't a tall man by any means, but no Uchiha actually was. "Sakura-san". She inclined her head. "Madara-san".

"You didn't lie to us, you have money, so how do we convince you to share it with us?" "Interesting". She looked him over as she started circling him, like a lion she observed her prey. "You know you could always approach the Uzumaki and Hogoromo clans by yourself with the offer of peace and creating a village, the Senju name would be nice, but if their coffers are empty then sooner or later, the clan will dissemble and use their name to marry into clans that have the means to support them. You've seen this happen, but still you wish to include them ... why?"

He had indeed seen clans tear themselves apart when they came to realize there was no money to go around, he learned that at a young age and had made sure that his own clan would never go hungry and rabid.

"I did not come up with dream on my own, Hashirama, the idiot that's laughing on his ass, dreamt it up alongside me, it would only be fair to include him in on something he helped create". She nodded her head and he realized that indeed she was right, if he had went to the other clans with a peace treaty even the Uzumaki they would surely turn tail on the Senju knowing that they would gain nothing but gain and their wish for trades would only fall through.

He could have defeated the Senju without even having to defeat them in battle but he could have rose up against the Senju by building the perfect village without them and even turned one of their closest allies against them, instead though he'd ignored the rumors that flowed and didn't think twice about betraying his friend in such a way. ... How interesting indeed.

She nodded her head. "Okay, give me a week and you'll have the money then". She turned to leave then and a part of him knew he should stop her but couldn't find it within him to do it, she was going to be back.

Hashirama though was quick in his reflexes as he grabbed her arms and once again grabbed her wrist. "How dare you try to turn people against me!" She tried to pull away then as she saw the chakra in his hands and he grabbed her wrist. "Hashirama she's not a threat". Hashirama had a dark side, and this was it, even he knew that deep down, there was the possibility of everyone turning on him and that brought out a very ugly side that they'd both tried to hide from the rest of the world.

The Senju were the heroes and the Uchiha were the villians, it was a tale as old as time and for his friends sake he'd keep it that way if it meant keeping his friend from falling into the darkness.

Hashirama didn't let go and instead his chakra flared as it was so strong that it felt as if he was being pushed down. Hashirama pushed his chakra into Sakura and she screamed, and he knew that this time there was no way, anyone was going to take off that seal, Hashirama deemed her a threat.

He pushed her away then and she fell to the floor, her face staring at the seals that were once more burned onto her wrist. Hashirama crouched next to her then and she looked up her eyes blazing with that fire that he knew was dangerous. "Don't confuse me for a simple man girl, now tell me where is the money"

She seethed at him "Undo the seals" he shook his head. "You have no control over this situation anymore, now tell me". She glared at him. "Sorry I can't" She pulled down her lower lip and showed the sealing inside her lip. Smart girl. "You can remove the seals now". Hashirama glared.

He sighed they were getting no where, this girl was way too smart to let anyone bully her or torture her to get what they wanted. "How about this". She stood from her spot and pointed at Hashirama. "You" She then turned to him. "And him, can accompany me to where I keep my stash and then you'll unseal me".

"That's too risky" Tobirama spoke up, he agreed it was rather risky, it was possibly she'd set everything up in order to catch them undetected in order to get the heads of the two highest priced heads in the bingo book. She shrugged her shoulders. "Well then, I'll just be on my way to the capital, now that I know the Senju clan is broke, I'm sure the Daimyo will want you to dismantle your clan since you can't afford them".

She was very quick to throw that in the Senju faces, it was as if she knew that it was hurting Hashirama. "Look you can't win this you'll unseal me one way or another and I'd prefer if you unseal me without having me having to go to the Daimyo". Of course Hashirama was most likely hurt at the knowledge that he would be the one that destroyed his own clan by binging on gambling and partying.

He sighed, he couldn't let that happen, Hashirama was not without his flaws despite what other may have thought. "How about a different deal, you accompany us to where you've hidden your money and you accompany us back here and then he'll unseal you". She looked as though she was thinking it over but he could tell she had already made up her mind.

"I suppose that could be worked with". Hashirama spoke up then. "But if this is a trap, I'll make sure you never get that seal off". She glared at him then. "Fine". He knew that if those three continued to glare and bicker amongst each other that it wouldn't work out.

"So where's the stash at". She smiled impishly at him and he knew his heart skipped in his chest at that smile. "Somewhere between Hi no Kuni and the border of Udon no Kuni".

Hashirama looked flabbergasted at her words. "That's more than a weeks travel!" She had dimples and that was impossibly more attractive to him, possibly just as attractive as her green eyes that dances with mirth.

"Well you agreed to it". Yes, yes they had.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait, but somethings had come up like work, lots and lots of work. **

**With the Corona Virus effecting the world right now I'd like to hope that all of your are safe and healthy. **

**Anyways**

**thank you for reading. See you in the next chapter!**

Reviews are welcome.

Translations:

Udon no Kuni - Land of Noodles

Kama - Japanese sickle/scythe

Gunbai - War Fan

Godaime Hokage - Fifth Fire Shadow

Shodai Hokage - First Fire Shadow

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique

Nakama - Friends

Meisaigakure no Jutu - Hiding with Camouflage Technique

Henge no Jutsu - Transformation Technique

Mizu no Kuni - Land of Water

Hōrō-sha - The Wanderer

Hakke no Fui Shiki - Eight Trigrams Sealing Style

Tensei Ninjutsu - Life Transfer Techniques or Reincarnation Ninja Techniques

Shimo no Kuni - Land of Frost

Kaminari no Kuni - Land of Lightening

Hi no Kuni - Land of Fire

Tetsu no Kuni - Land of Iron

Sora-Ku - Sky Ward

Ninso - Ninja Monk

_\- Aethi_


	4. Chapter IV : Writers Note

**_So Sorry to have been gone for so long but my laptop went down and I had to save up to get a new one, but I'm back!_**

**So there are some clarifications that need to be made. Or You can Just skip down to the story, your call. **

**While reading the original story I found this is how I viewed things and when I started emailing the Forever Gypsy she told me her views on things and this is what we decided on in order for me to not completely destroy the original story but this is our beliefs. ...**

**1\. So to the Reincarnation Jutsu in the anime and manga should be noted the any Reincarnation Jutsu's have only been performed on male shinobi. With no effects shown or spoken of. On the Exception of Asura and Indra but the Reincarnation Jutsu the two brothers used has never been spoken about at all. So With that it leaves me with the theory that if a Reincarnation Jutsu would to be used on a female along with a sealing technique I hypothesize that if the being that is being forced into another living body is too immense it could have the effect of splitting itself into fractions in order to settle into the host. Example - Kaguya being sealed inside of Sakura, Kaguya being the mother of all chakra and Sakura being a normal human not blooded to Kaguya. My belief is that because of Kaguya being such a strong being that it would be impossible to completely seal her into just a normal human girl, her chakra and body would have to be fractioned off. Reincarnation has the theory that when one dies another is born into another being, this is why Sakura became pregnant, because Kaguya was to powerful to completely seal away and forced herself to be reborn physically so as not to die or kill her host. **

**2\. Sakura hasn't just been running around rabid, her mission was to save the world and as such Sakura has been doing what she can without the help of the Uchiha and the Senju. What she's been up to will be talked about in further chapters. **

**3\. Hashirama isn't evil, he is the reincarnation of Asura, but he is still blooded to Kaguya an alien being that ate the God Fruit. I strongly believe that the ****Ōtsutsuki bloodline is more emotionless and darker than what we have been told. This darker and cold nature is more seen with the Uchiha who as we know use it as a mask to protect their more loving hearts where as only one Senju has been known to be completely cold and apathetic towards everyone is Tobirama and even Butsuma as shown when he beat Hashirama for his feelings. It is possible that Hashirama puts on a more cheery demeanor and uses gambling and alcohol to cover these darker feelings. Even in his 'depressed' states he's still acting like a class clown in a sense. In the previous chapter Sakura forces out this darker side of him because of the fact that in his eyes she is a threat to him and to Madara, this comes from the fact that they are the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, and as we've seen with Naruto and Sasuke the two reincarnations that fought nearly to the death because Naruto was trying to save Sasuke. Hashirama sees Sakura as trying to pull Madara away from him. In other words Asura is trying to keep Indra from falling into the darkness even if that means having to embrace the darkness himself. Hashirama sealed Sakura's chakra the first time because he felt the darkness that was Kaguya's bloodlust where as Tobirama sealed Sakura's chakra because he didn't want Madara to be able to have her as a weapon if the peace talks didn't go well, as she has been shown to be such a great healer she could keep the Uchiha numbers and power above the Senju clan. The Second time Hashirama is forced to seal her is because he sees her talking with Madara about something that could keep them (Asura and Indra) apart and keep the fighting in a continuous state, when all Hashirama (Asura) wants is to stop fighting and be with his brother/friend Madara (Indra) in peaceful harmony. **

**4\. Sakura is not superwoman, she is still Sakura, albeit having an alien sealed inside her and watching everyone and everything she knows be destroyed and die before her very eyes has probably changed her a bit. While she is a very smart person, she is still capable of making mistakes like getting thrown into a boulder and blacking out. ****(Like many Genius' before her have made mistakes in the Naruto universe i.e. Itachi and Shisui were genius but made mistakes that cost them their lives)**** Hashirama and Madara are a lot stronger than her, not just because of their chakra's and being Ōtsutsuki descendants but also being they are 9 years older than her and have been fighting to survive their entire lives compared to her so yeah, their reflexes are gonna be faster and harsher than she could ever be. Sakura is intelligent, and knows that there are some fights she can't win and this is why she's submitted to Hashirama and Madara because she knows she can't take them, and she knows that even if Izuna doesn't want to hurt her, if Madara believes her to be a threat he will be forced to help his brother defend themselves and If she can't win in a fight with Hashirama and Madara, Sakura knows that she won't survive in a fight with two Senju's and two Uchiha's that are determined to kill her. So please remember Sakura is smart, but she's not superwoman, even if she has Kaguya's chakra she is still Haruno Sakura.**

**Now you can read the new chapter ...**


	5. Chapter V : Thumos

Authors Note

This story has been adopted from the wonderful Forever Gypsy.

All characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi.

Sorry for the long wait ... I broke my laptop and had to save up for another one. ...

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**Chapter **

**IV**

_**... Thumos ...**_

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It burned, it burned like nothing she could have ever imagined, gods did it burn, every time she called upon her chakra and got close enough too feeling it swirl within her the seals activated and burned her. She stared at the red and blistering skin, then to the salves that had been sent to her. The little box of ointments and bandages taunted her as it reminded her of the situation she'd gotten herself in.

More scrubbing continued in the background and she looked over at the servant that had been cleaning the room she'd destroyed for the past couple of hours and was now scrubbing the wooden floors to a perfect polish that she swore she could see her reflection in.

Perhaps a change of scenery would help her focus more... More scrubbing and she glared at the servant that continued with the goddamned cleaning. It was unfair, where she wanted to bemoan her existence surrounded by literal destruction, and it was taken away from her all by the servant now that had continued to clean away any remnants of the disaster she'd caused hours ago.

"Miss would you like me to help you with that?" She blinked as she looked back towards the servant that had finally stopped scrubbing and was avoiding looking her in the eyes by staring at the box of medicinal supplies. She admitted to herself only that it would be a little complicated to wrap her wrist herself, and it wouldn't hurt to get a little information out of the girl.

"That would be very welcome". The servant nodded her head as she stood up and walked the few steps towards where she sat on the floor next to the shoji screen that separated her from Madara's weapons. The damnable man had kept the barriers up on the suggestion from Tobirama and Hashirama, both worried she'd try to get to Hashirama in the middle of the night in order to get to his blood. They're concerns were not without merit, she definitely would have, but Tobirama and Madara were a vicious pair when they teamed up together and they caged her into the room with the barriers and had removed all the weapons from her grasp, even the hidden ones.

The servant was definitely not an Uchiha, she had the dark hair and eyes but there was something about her that screamed outsider. Holding out her wrist she watched as the woman was very careful, first pulling the bracelet carefully off her and placing it in her awaiting palm before moving to clean the burns and did everything to avoid looking up at her.

No definitely not an Uchiha. "I am not a royal, you do have the right to look me in the eyes" the servant only shook her head. "Forgive me Miss, but you are Madara-samas honorary guest, I must respect his and Izuna-samas wishes to treat you with the utmost respect that I show them".

"I'm not a guest either, I'm their prisoner". The servant girl shook her head as she finished placing the salve on her wrist. "Prisoners are not allowed in the main household Miss, and prisoners never receive medicinal care personally from Madara-sama, perhaps you should rethink your state of position here".

Ouch, the servant girl may not have been an Uchiha but she certainly had the bite of one.

The girl began wrapping her wrist then and Sakura took to notice that the girl herself did not have any brandings on her own wrist. "Your chakra is not sealed?" "Oh no Miss, I wasn't born with much chakra, Tajima-sama never believed in sealing a woman if the woman did not possess much chakra to begin with, he forbade all the men in the Uchiha to go against him, Madara-sama and Izuna-sama follow this belief as well, it is the great gift of being born within the arms of the Uchiha". Wait so she was an Uchiha then?

"So you are an Uchiha then" The girl shook her head. "Oh no Miss, my mother was pregnant with me when she came to be in the household of the Uchiha, thankfully I was born when Tajima-sama was leading the Uchiha's and now I have the honor of watching Madara-sama and Izuna-sama lead them as well".

Ah, she was born into servitude, but it was interesting to hear that Uchiha Tajima was capable of seeing that sealing someone's chakra, especially when there was hardly any chakra to seal was not a smart move. Chakra was life and having it all sealed away could have detrimental effects to someone's health. Uchiha Tajima must have been smarter than she realized because hardly many people would have cared enough to do the same.

"There you go Miss, you're all set". She looked down at the wrappings and noticed that they were done perfectly, she may not have been sealed herself, but it was obvious the young servant girl had dealt with others that had been. She slid the bracelet back over her wrist.

"Miss?" She looked up at the woman that was now standing over her. "Yes?" She continued not to look her in the eyes. "Are you the woman that the healers say saved Izuna-samas life?"

She wasn't sure if this was a trick question or not, she decided it would be best not to answer. "Well if you are the same woman, I'd like to thank you for saving Izuna-samas life". She was sure her confusion was shown clearly on her face. "Since Izuna-sama came back to us, he's been noticeably different, in a good way, he's more open with the rest of clan and he even smiles now, whatever you did didn't just save his life, you saved his soul, and that is something many of us are thankful for".

The servant girl walked away then and she breathed out carefully, Izuna's entire persona had changed so much since she'd removed the filth that was Zetsu's chakra and his clan noticed. That made her feel as if being stuck in this damnable room was a little worth it.

"Sir, I'm ready now" The servant girl stopped then before she turned towards her again. "Miss, I patched your cloak up for you, it's on the desk there" she turned away from her then and faced the guards. Sakura turned and watched as the guards removed the barriers just long enough for the servant girl and her cleaning gear to slip out. She growled, she really needed to get out of here.

She stood up from her position on the floor and walked over to the desk and all the scrolls that littered it, there had to be something there that could help her, the Uchiha and Senju had been fighting for a millennium. Surely the Uchiha would have found a way to get out of blood seals.

Then again, the seal was a way to control women and a part of her knew that the Uchiha didn't really care about any of that, if it wouldn't bring down the Senju then it didn't matter to them.

Going back to the bed she laid down on the soft warm furs, this bed was really comfortable, she wrapped herself in the blankets and tried to rest, the sun would be up within an hour and she hadn't had any rest yet. With the trek to the border she knew she'd need the rest, especially now that she didn't have the chakra to help her get through it.

At least this time she would remember being sealed. She sat up quickly as the thought came to her, she didn't remember fighting Hashirama, she remembered fighting Madara ... Kinda remembered, not really but hardly did she remember going up against Hashirama. Which meant that he would have had to seal her after they had gotten her and she woke up in this bed already sealed so unless he sealed her chakra before they got to the Uchiha compound and after they'd subdued then that would mean that Hashirama would have had to have sealed her when she'd been brought to the compound. It was only logical, it would have been to risky to stop and seal her before they had arrived at the Uchiha compound.

With how tightly secured they were keeping her inside the room, she doubted Madara would let the rest of the clan know that she was in here. Madara was a smart man, even in the history book he'd been regarded as highly intelligent. Madara wouldn't just let anyone know she was there, she could imagine the uproar the Uchiha elders would have at the thought of an unsealed woman walking about their home. A witch.

Madara would have been smart and taken her directly to where he could control the situation, which he deemed was this room it seemed. Hashirama would have had to do the sealing here in this bed. She flipped herself over as she began smoothing her fingers though the fur. It was a long shot but she knew it was possibly.

The human body shed fifty to a hundred hairs per day and with that long hair that Hashirama had she was sure he shed some at some point. It was possible that he'd lost a few here in this room in this bed while he was sealing her. The furs would have caught it.

her hand began feeling hairs begin to tickle her skin and she cheered happily in her head. _Oh eww_, she looked at the small tangle of hairs that clung to her palm. Some were thick and green, which would be hers, some were thick and black, she didn't want to think about that and there it was, mingled with the other hairs, but it was there. She held in her glee as she pulled the long straight hair out of the tangled bunch and carefully broke the long hair apart.

Undoing the wrappings on her left wrist she carefully laid a piece of the hair on her red sealings and breathed in deep as she tried to call upon her chakra again. With eyes closed and mind focused she noted closely how her chakra raged inside her fighting against the sealings.

It hurt more than she'd care to admit, the more she felt it fight inside her, her gut twisted almost like a bad cramp and she grimaced at the feel, She kept forcing herself against the seal and it began burning in a horrible way. Like lighting alcohol on fire. She focused more and when the burning began to become almost too painful to bear she felt it. The slight breaking, a crack and she felt her chakra settle and the burning dim down to a numbing pain.

Opening her eyes she looked down at the seal and grimaced, she cracked a single layer of the seal, just a single hairline crack. She growled, right now she really hated the Senju Chief.

She felt the barriers coming down again and quickly she started to wrap her sealings up so no one would notice. Nobody was coming, she would have been able to sense the chakra if they were close to the door, all she could feel was the chakra of the two guards that had been standing there all night since she was thrown back into the room.

They were letting her out, finally! Quickly she grabbed her cloak stashing the other piece of hair in her pocket as she walked out of the room and stopped in her tracks.

There was Madara, walking down the engawa, slipping a black long sleeved shirt over his head, his broad shoulders squaring and abdominals muscles rippling, if she weren't a medical practitioner she'd think his muscles had muscles. She sucked in a breath, men in this era were certainly more ... _sturdy _compared to the men in her timeline.

He stopped before her and she used her cloak to cover her stomach and arms, best not to let him see the wrappings on her wrist, he looked her over and she took notice of the way his eyes moved over her body. She reigned in her tongue, no need to make smart remarks, he had after all sent her medicine to help her with her burns. She supposed she could allow him to look her over the way he was. He met her eyes then and she watched as the red of his sharingan faded into black.

... He'd had his sharigan activated a lot since she'd been around him, even times when it was unnecessary, his eyesight must have been much worse than even Izuna's.

"Are you ready?" She nodded her head. "Good, follow me then, Izuna wishes to speak with you before we leave". He turned away from her then before quickly turning his head towards her, his dark black eyes smoldering as he spoke. "Place your cloak on, you're clothing is rather revealing and it's very _enticing_"

_... Enticing? _She didn't want to dwell on what he meant towards that and as she followed him she slipped her cloak on quickly, taking notice to how Madara's body was tight and rigid as he directed her. So unlike the shinobi she had seen two years ago, then again the man from her time had died at the age of a hundred and twenty and had a lot of time to come into himself. This man that walked in front of her was only twenty six and she could see that he was not completely comfortable with himself despite how much he wanted everyone to believe.

They stopped at a shoji screen and he slid it open to reveal an office of sorts, she walked further into the study and noted that he didn't follow her. "Izuna will walk you to the entrance gates". He walked away and she sucked in a breath.

"He's attracted to you". Her head snapped and she saw Izuna standing in the threshold of another room a bedroom from what it looked like, unlike when she saw Madara, Izuna was fully dressed, but didn't wear the traditional high color that most Uchiha were known to wear, instead he wore a dark blue robe that showed a rather good amount of chest. She decided not to comment on that, because really, there was no need to comment on that. "You wanted to see me?" Izuna smirked at her then and she held her emotions at bay. He looked so much like Sasuke that it physically hurt her heart to look at him with that smirk she had memorized.

"You're not very sociable are you?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "I prefer to talk about matters that are more concerning". Izuna leaned against the threshold folding his arms against his chest. "Madara's attraction to you is something that needs to be talked about", "No it's doesn't". Izuna inclined his head. "It should though, it's a good thing, he's unmarried and I'm guessing you are as well" She shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about this".

"Fine then". He turned away from her for a moment and then turned back and flung a black bag at her, she caught it immediately when she noticed it was hers. "The healers took that from you when we brought you in, I figured you should have it back", "Thank you". She took off her cloak then and slipped the pack on, feeling the eyes of the older man in the room she slipped her cloak back on her quickly again.

"Madara was fascinated by some of the contraptions that he'd found in there". She wasn't surprised they went through her pack. "Well that's good for him". "I think I liked you better when we first met".

The words were shocking only because she wasn't expecting them. "Well if you haven't noticed, I was much better off when I wasn't surrounded by you four". "That's besides the point, I noticed that you're underfed". "I eat enough to survive". "You don't have a home", "I like to travel" "Do you have an answer for everything?" She watched as he waited for her to answer him.

"Please just listen to me", she could hear the desperateness in his voice and she knew it was taking a lot out of him to let her in on his emotions. "I'm extending to you an invitation, please stay with us when you come back ... You saved my life and I'd like to try to repay you somehow". She shook her head. "It's not necessary, you don't need to repay me for anything". "Sakura-san, you have no home, and we all can see that you don't eat well enough, I can even tell you don't sleep enough ... The Uchiha Clan isn't as extravagant as some other clans are but we have food and shelter and protection ... It's not a bad place to make a home".

"Is Madara aware of your invitation?" "Don't change the subject" She looked away. "I have a home" "No you don't". He sighed and she made the chance to look up at him and she could tell that he looked tired, exhausted even. "Madara and I have been up all night with the Senju's because of you". At this she was shocked. "Because of me?" Izuna nodded his head.

"There's a part of the treaty they added, none of us are now not permitted to bind you and your abilities to just a single clan". She was confused, she wasn't sure how that had been brought up. "Like bound as in marriage? I told you already I'm not interested in your kinsmen and that extends to the Senju's as well". The look he gave her that spoke volumes, he wasn't talking about a marriage and she didn't understand what else he could be talking about and he saw that she didn't, he spoke in a knowing tone. "There's a technique, it's how the Daimyo keeps clans tethered to his lands, it's not common with lesser clans, but certain clans the Uchiha, the Senju are taught it, mostly the head clans, Patriarchs, heirs ... It allows the user to bind someone to them, making it impossible for that person to go against the user".

_Oh she had never heard of that_. "Senju Tobirama has a fear that Madara will bind you, and Madara fears the same with Senju Tobirama, so Hashirama-san decided to add it into the peace treaty that you are to remain unbound to any of the clans, more specifically you will remain unbound to any clans that are part of this village".

They had all been arguing over her? "I am not approaching you with an invitation to stay here for your abilities, I am asking you to stay here because you saved my life and I know there's nothing more I can do to repay you than offer the comfort of a home here with us".

So none of them were allowed to use her healing abilities without her consent, and Izuna still wanted her stay there? "What if I wanted to stay with the Senju?" Izuna scoffed as he waived his hand dismissively at her. "Do what you must, but I doubt that Senju Tobirama would allow you to even go near the Senju lands, but if they do approach you with the same invitation then I won't fault you, so long as your cared for". She could hear the disdain for the white haired Senju and it was rather amusing.

"Just let us know of your decision so we can make up a room for you, Madara and I would really like it if he could have his room back and I can sleep on my own bed". Wait what? He must have caught onto her thoughts. His dark eyes began to glow with a certain mirth that she really didn't like. "Oh yes Sakura-san you've been staying in Madara's room".

That would explain so many things.

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He stared at the skin on Izuna's stomach as he watched his brother dress, it was perfect, not a single mark on it, it was slightly lighter than the rest of the skin that surrounded it, like new babies skin it was still tinged pink.

"You know I'm getting very tired of you and the healers staring". He blinked as he looked up at Izuna, allowing Izuna to know how in awe his was. "It's an amazing gift she has, to mend bone and muscle in the way she does, many of the other clans would covet her". Izuna nodded his head, almost spitting his words out. "Yes, well now since you and Hashirama-san made an agreement none can covet her or her abilities".

That was truly unfortunate. "She's attractive don't you think?" He looked over at his young brother allowing the words to sink in, until now he'd never had issues with Izuna coveting the women he'd bedded, but there was a first time for everything, and considering the woman was very attractive due to her rarity. "Is this your way of saying you want her Izuna-kun" Izuna rolled his eyes at his mockery, not even hestitating Izuna was quick to point out her best quality . "She's too wild for my liking". He smirked, teasing his younger brother. "I didn't know you had a liking", Izuna didn't even flinch. "Shut-up" His young brother took a dramatic sigh then as he asked his first question once more. "Do you find her attractive or not?"

He was honest with his brother and himself though, "Oh she's very attractive, I just can't get over that hair of hers". Izuna's eyes widened and rolled in a weird way that he'd never seen before. "What is it?" Izuna shook his head. "She didn't look like that when I met her". _Oh_ he wondered. "What color was it before?" Izuna tapped his chin shaking his head though as he spoke, dodging his question entirely. "I'm not sure if it was real either". Izuna turned away from him then as he changed the subject. "I was talking to the head physician last night, he's claims for her age he believes she is and her height that she's underweight, most likely from being malnourished".

He figured that much, but at the same time, weren't most shinobi supposed to be thin? "She's trained as a shinobi though, being thin and in shape is how a shinobi's body is supposed to be", "I told the physician that as well, he still believes that she's too skinny even for that ... I was thinking".

Izuna bit his lower lip and he already knew what he was going to suggest. "With how skinny she is, and the little she keeps on her, perhaps it would be a good idea to offer her a place here? I do owe her a debt for saving my life, would it be too much to think I would be allowed to offer her a home here ... with us?"

Izuna was asking for his permission. "It wouldn't be too much to offer, she's an interesting woman, I would prefer to keep an interesting woman closer". Izuna nodded his head exuberantly as he grabbed a scroll and began to write something down on it as he spoke. "Yes, that sounds good, maybe we could find her a room closer to yours? She's an honorary guest as you've told the servants. It would be wise to have her stay here in the main house with us, the rooms close to yours are very fine too".

Now he stopped in his thoughts and eyed his young brother carefully, what was he up to? "Izuna you're up to something". Izuna shrugged his shoulders. "Can't I want the best for my Nīsan? And as you stated she's very attractive". He shook his head. He wasn't sure what Izuna was up to but he'd figure it out.

"Why don't you go and get her and bring her here? So I can speak with her about it, so she has something to think about on her trek to the border". He was definitely up to something, it would have been easier to just go talk to her himself, but he would admit that she seemed a tad more comfortable speaking with his younger brother than she was him or the others.

"I must go check and make sure Hashirama is ready, so I might as well go get her as well". He stood from his spot where he sat on the chest and started to walk out of the room before Izuna stopped him. "Perhaps you should put a shirt on Nīsan, don't want to go and scare her away just yet". He turned around in time to catch the garment that had been thrown at him.

The sun had just started to peak over the horizon, and he focused his mind on the matter at hand, the guards were stationed at the room Hashirama had stayed in as well as his own where Sakura took residence. He watched as a servant girl walked out of the room, she'd have to pass him if she was planning to leave the house. He knew that she had been sent to clean up the wreckage that was his rooms. Which meant that she had been with Sakura the entire time. It would be a good idea to figure out where the green-eyed girls thoughts might be and how he should approach her.

The servant girl stopped before him and bowed. "Madara-sama", she didn't see it, but he inclined his head. "Emiyo-san, how is our guest doing?" The girl straightened up at his voice and she looked towards the floor as she spoke to him. "She was awake when I arrived to your rooms Madara-sama, and she's still awake even after I've finished your rooms . There was food that had been sent to her that she did not touch. She did allow me to assist her in caring for her burns ... My lord, I will say that she seems very sad, especially about her burns, I don't understand why, but it seems to really upset her". Of course she wouldn't understand, she didn't know what it meant to have chakra, what it meant to lose it.

"Thank you Emiyo-san, please give your regards to your mother for me". She nodded her head and walked passed him understanding that she had been dismissed.

She didn't eat and she didn't sleep, but she had her wounds cared for, if anything her burns were more of a concern, he'd seen what happened when one didn't care for there wounds. Of course the medicine he'd sent to her was probably nothing compared to what she could do with her chakra, but she didn't have access to her chakra at this moment. Then again, she did heal herself without chakra, he was sure of it, the Senju had stabbed her in the stomach at some point in there fight, probably before they'd even made it to the cliff. She had healed herself from those wounds somehow, he was sure he would have felt if she had been using chakra to heal herself when he'd carried her back. He wondered, was that healing ability also tied to her chakra somehow? Hashirama hadn't been any help in the matter as he didn't know how his healing ability worked himself, so trying to get him to figure out Sakura's healing ability went nowhere very fast.

He motioned for the guards to drop the barriers and stopped walking when he came to the room he'd left Hashirama in, knocking he'd heard the Senju's voice. _'Enter' _Sliding the screen open he watched as Hashirama fixed his shirt, noting that he too had decided to go without his signature armor, suddenly he remembered that he had yet to put his own shirt on. "Be at the gates in five minutes". Hashirama nodded his head in recognition and Madara slid the screen shut before continuing on his path. Deciding to finally place the shirt on he did so while watching as the green-eyed beauty walked out of the room they'd kept her in. Her green hair was long and thick and bounced gracefully in a high ponytail but it brought noticeable attention towards her face.

Her forehead was rather large and more noticeable with her hair up and pulled out of her face, but it seemed to level her face out for those large green eyes of hers. Dark circles rimmed them but it didn't repel the attractiveness from her all over face.

Her arms moved underneath the cloak and he took notice that she was once again not wearing her cloak. Her breast were still wrapped in that leather binding that was so attractive, the curves of her breast, looked like smooth cream that flowed into soft curves and dips of her waist and belly. She wasn't svelte like some Senju women he'd seen and she was definitely not at all curvaceous compared to the Uchiha women, but those hips of hers showed the sign of womanhood ... or at the very least something akin.

He wondered how old was she? He wasn't one to care for the age of the women he bedded, but he couldn't ever come to touch a child either. While she didn't look like a child, it didn't mean that she wasn't he'd seen some girls in their clan and in others that were very much well developed by the time they were fifteen years. Sakura did look much younger than him and Hashirama, possibly even younger than Izuna as well.

The need to touch her fizzled with the knowledge that she could very well be a child, and it was easier to look her in the eyes again.

Only those eyes, _fuck_, those green eyes that reflected back at him with appreciative lust as they roved over his body. Dammit if he didn't throw her back in that room and ravage her until all that reflected back in those green eyes of hers was him.

He felt the familiar feelings of arousal swirl within him and he stopped where he stood and took in a deep breath focusing on what he was doing. He had to focus on what he was doing. This wasn't a normal woman, this was a female shinobi, she didn't need her chakra to hurt them, and bedding her could get him killed. Yes he needed to focus and stop acting like some hormonal boy.

Right now he cursed the Sharingan and its ability to see every little detail on the woman standing before him. With his body calmed down he was able to deactivate the Sharingan, the colors around him noticeably dimmed and everything was out of focus and blurry, and the corners of his sight already blind. He didn't need perfect sight to know that her focus was on his eyes.

He remembered what Izuna had told him, how she'd given him back his sight, but now with the treaty he wouldn't be able to ask for her services, shame that he wouldn't be able to look at her face much longer. He didn't know when but in his gut he knew he didn't have much more time left. Unless he was to do the unthinkable and take another's Mangekyo, he figured he had five years at best before he was completely blind.

With that knowledge he was able to completely focus on the situation, he needed to stop messing around and keep his mind on the treaty. "Are you ready?" She nodded her head. "Good, follow me then, Izuna wishes to speak with you before we leave". He spun on his heel and turned away from her, but the vision of her creamy skin was burned into his mind and he craned his head to look back at her, the curves of her breast gently lifting with each breath caught his attention again and he took in a deep breath, too much skin was showing reminding him of his previous thoughts. "Place your cloak on, your clothing is rather revealing and it's very enticing". Her green eyes widened and he knew she understood what he was saying.

There was something about having his back to a shinobi that had never really made him very comfortable, and in his own home he'd never thought he'd feel so uncomfortable, normally when a woman was walking behind him, he was usually leading them to his rooms in the dark of night to satiate his lust. Right now, there was a very dangerous woman walking behind him and he had never felt so uncomfortable and attracted to the younger girl. He'd never thought he'd seen a woman so out of control like he had with her and he was so excited by the knowledge that she could fight him without her gender concerning either of them.

If she did decide to stay with them he would be very interested in getting her to at the very least fight him once, but he wouldn't count on that. Izuna may think he knew the girl because he had actually spoken with her when she had kidnapped him. One look at the woman though told him, she really didn't want to be around any of them. Surprisingly he knew it wasn't because of them being Uchiha, he could tell that their clan did not spook her like it did others. No, she wasn't even all that comfortable with the Senju either, which most people usually were, Hashirama's demeanor usually charmed others towards them. This woman though, she looked ready to run as fast as possible from all of them, as if there was somewhere else she needed to be that was more important.

He slid the screen open for her as they came to Izuna's rooms and motioned for her to walk in, she did so hesitantly, he understood, it wasn't everyday people wanted to be alone with an Uchiha heir. Perhaps he should assure her that she wasn't going to be killed? She looked as if she were waiting for him to walk in after her too. "Izuna will walk you to the front entrance". He heard her let out a breath and he turned away smirking, well at the least she knew she was not going to be murdered, he slid the screen shut and waited.

When he was sure no one was watching his actions he placed his ear against the screen and listened carefully. No sound, Izuna must have been waiting for him to leave before he started talking to her. He looked over and saw Hashirama walking towards him and the other man looked confused."Madara wha-" He was quick as he covered the other mans mouth and silenced him.

His irritation just unfolded, the idiot man, what did he think he was doing pressed up against a room, he grit his teeth as he looked over at Hashirama who finally understood and placed his ear against the screen as well.

Still nothing. He pushed away from the screen when he realized that Izuna had placed up silencing barriers, the sneak, no wonder he had pushed him out of the room the way he did. He sighed, what was Izuna up to? Surely whatever they were speaking about should have been cleared with him first, his younger brother would know that he wasn't one to judge, but this secretive side if Izuna worried him.

"Who was in the room?" He looked over at Hashirama apathetically. "Izuna and Sakura, but the brat decided to silence the room". Hashirama looked at him with so much interest it didn't make him feel any better. "Oh! Is that it?" He rolled his eyes as they continued to the front entrance, only to stop at the sight of Izuna and Sakura already there waiting for them.

Whatever conversation was said must have been quick and Izuna must have realized he was going to try to eavesdrop and silenced the room before using another room to exit through. He activated his Sharingan.

What a pair they made with the dawning sun gleaming in the background and making them glow. "Madara what do you think of her? This Sakura girl?" He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I think it is unwise to let our guard down around a woman that can kill us". She wasn't a woman who looked at herself as a woman though, he could tell that she didn't consider her sex, but only considered herself as a shinobi. "I agree, nevertheless, the little bits that she has spoken with us, hasn't been much to go by. She did though save both our kinsmen and her healing abilities are more than a little impressive, I believe that garners some attention, but still maybe it is still too soon to make any decisions". Where was Hashirama going with this?

"You're brother seems to trust her though" Hashirama nodded his head in the direction of where the two stood at the front gates. Izuna's eyes shinned with hope and determination, a sight he'd never seen before. Izuna had always been more concerned with the clan and training that he'd never given women much thought, now though ... He just hoped the beautiful woman wouldn't hurt his brother.

"She saved his life, we are indebted to her". He wondered if Izuna understood that even if Sakura were to accept his feelings that he would still be unable to bring the woman into the clan, she was unfortunately not an option for marriage. "The Uchiha clan must be more lenient than the Senju". They Uchiha Clan wasn't lenient, not at all. "My brother, if he is interested in such a thing, he's fooling himself, someone like her is only good enough to be a bedwarmer". Hashirama looked disappointed then. "Don't be so crude about it Madara". As crude as it may have seemed it was truthful. "I'm only being honest, the clan would never allow someone like her to be a true Uchiha ... If she were to bear any bastards from an Uchiha, they would be excepted, but she would never be". He looked over to his brother and the green-eyed beauty. That shinning look of hope, so strong, he felt pity for his younger brother.

Hashirama stopped walking then and turned to him. "You should pray he comes to his senses sooner rather than later. Whatever happened to change his demeanor towards the peace treaty between us is wonderful, the boy before was spoilt with darkness, don't deny this, if she were to break his heart, I fear it would change him into something that none of us could even imagine".

Izuna's attention was completely on whatever Sakura was talking about and he sighed. Hashirama was right, his brother had already been touched by darkness once. The younger boy wouldn't survive a broken heart, especially from the sort of love that could only be achieved between two lovers. It was a sad realization, but it was the way of the clan, Izuna was young and innocent, but he wasn't naive, he prayed he wasn't at least. "I'll speak with him once we return". If Izuna had lied to him about his interest in Sakura, then he feared that it would be too late.

Besides there was no guarantee that when they even arrived back that Sakura would be returning with them, if she were to turnout to be an enemy to them, they'd have to put her and any accomplices she might have down quickly before they returned.

As they walked up to the duo he was surprised to find that Izuna had stopped talking immediately, he lifted a brow at his brother in question, but it was Sakura who diverted the attention back to herself. "This trip should normally take four days altogether, but with the three of us and my chakra suppressed it will take at the most six if not seven days to return back, I do hope that you've settled any business that needs to be handled earlier".

Izuna was right, she was different, she was so straightforward.

Although the thought of spending an entire week with Hashirama and the girl made him slightly excited. As children he and Hashirama spent as much time together as possible, but back then, it was always spaced out, especially as they got older due to the fact that they were both from shinobi clans. Both from clans that wanted to kill each other. With these coming days they would see how much peace they could truly bring with the unification of their two clans.

Hashirama looked concerned at the younger woman. "Are you ready?" She turned away from them hautily as she placed her hood up and covered her green hair, but as he watched her, with his Sharingan activated he could see it, her roots. The natural coloring of her hair and he blinked, not sure of himself, the hair was almost white, almost but he wasn't sure it looked like a very, _very_, light _pink._

Mentally he shook his head, there wasn't such a thing as pink hair. His eyes went to her green-green eyes and looked over the feathery _white_ lashes. It didn't help to solidify his thoughts as his Sharingan continued to pick up on that pink coloring the more he looked.

Either his blindness was finally messing with his Sharingan's sight, or he was very, very tired because there was absolutely no way someone could have pink hair.

She was talking again, "Usually I have my chakra or a weapon of sorts to defend myself if need be, but alas I don't" She shot a glare at Hashirama who avoided looking at her. He shook his head in amusement. "You're not getting a weapon". She glared at him, oh if those eyes of hers could kill. "Fine". She turned away from them then and started walking, he looked over at Izuna. "Let the others know that the Senju are allowed entrance and if need be Senju Tobirama will have access to our messenger hawks as well ... Make sure you do your best at avoiding the Elders". He heard a sight from the woman and turned to see that she had turned back to them with her arms crossed she looked at them impatiently. "You are so bad at delegating" She she shook her head with another sight. "Izuna-san, advise your clan elders that your chief has left on a mission to bring back great wealth for the clan and that Hashirama-san here is the only one that has half of the information that is needed to locate the treasure, with the understanding that the Senju clan will be receiving a piece of the treasure as well, and that until they've returned the Uchiha and Senju are still partaking in peace talks and shall remain under the laws of the armistice until further notice, but make sure they understand that the Senju heir will still need to have access to the messenger birds just in case as the Uchiha do have the best tracking pigeons compared to the Senju". She tapped a delicate finger against her lip as she looked deep in thought. "Yes, yes that should keep your clan elders at bay" She nodded her head to herself then before she turned on her foot and began to walk away from them again.

Hashirama nudged him on the side. "... I'm starting to think there's a whole lot more to her than I had originally thought". He nodded his head in agreement. Yes, obviously not only was she trained in how to use her chakra and fight, but it seemed she was rather educated in democracy as well. Which could only mean that wherever she came, she wasn't just a normal person, she must have been someone important. Or she had been raised within the ranks of important figures. It was the only logical explanation because even he had a hard time handling his elders and he had been around them his whole life and while he was schooled in diplomacy and running a clan, the elders were still not a strong suit of his.

Although, how she knew about their homing pigeons was a mystery in itself.

This woman though, seemed to understand the inner-working of how a clan worked and how to deal with the most troublesome parts of a clan, the elders. "Madara" He looked back to Izuna who looked at him questionably. "What to do think?" He shrugged his shoulders. "It's better than my advice, if it works then it works, if not just do as I recommended". Izuna nodded his head, "Well then, better be off before you lose track of her, she's rather good at slipping away".

As they caught up with the green-eyed woman he heard the rustling from his side and watched as Hashirama pulled out a familiar looking scroll. He shook his head. "Are you now stealing from the Uchiha?" Hashirama shrugged his shoulders "I was realized this was going to be a long trip so I figured that some light reading would be needed and this just happened to be there" Hashirama then turned his head towards him his dark brown eyes large like a cats and smile suddenly replaced with a pout. He could feel a tick on his forehead as he prepared himself for whatever the Senju was about to say. "Besides Madara it's one of my favorite novels, you wouldn't deny me something so precious would you?" That throbbing tick on his forehead popped in agitation and to combat the pain he slapped Hashirama on the back of the head. "Oww that hurt!" He shook his head. "Next time don't just take things that don't belong to you".

Hashirama rubbed his head a little more before they continued following Sakura. She only shook her head as she continued on with her mental map of the area and they followed.

He noticed though that as Hashirama unraveled the scroll once more Sakura had slowed in her steps as she looked over at the Senju and he smirked as he watched amusedly as she leaned on the tips of her toes to look at what the scroll was.

She was so small.

When she didn't achieve anything from that she straightened herself out and huffed quietly to herself. Glaring a look towards him, before looking back over at Hashirama and folding her arms together.

She tapped her pointer finger against her lip again and stopped, looking back over at Hashirama before going back to tapping her lip once more, it was clearly an unconscious habit of hers. Finally she stopped and stood back up on the tips of her toes, Hashirama surprisingly not bothered by the trespassing of his personal space.

"Can I help you?" He looked down at her as he slightly rolled down the scroll to look down at her. "Senju-san if I may ask, what are you reading?" Hashirama smiled softly down at her, clearly amused by her curiosity. "Why it's my favorite story Taketori Monogatori" It was just a slightness, but his Sharingan had caught it, she actually flinched.

It was an old story, passed down through generations, but he knew for a fact that peasant civilians and lesser shinobi clans weren't familiar with the story, the Uchiha were an old clan, but when they raided other clans and took what was left over he learned enough to know that they weren't familiar with the stories from over a thousand years ago.

If she was familiar then she was not only educated but that would mean that she was from an old clan.

She answered in a careful tone. "It's an old fairy-tale". She rounded on them then with a different question. "Tell me do either of you know where chakra comes from?"

Such a strange question to ask, he looked up at Hashirama who looked down at him questioningly. Did she really not think they wouldn't know that question?

It took a moment, but he realized it then as he looked down at her, she was looking for something, something that was detrimental to their answer to her. Hashirama spoke slowly, catching on to her as well. "Chakra comes from the Rikudo Sennin".

There was a stillness in the air around them as she sized them up, her green eyes looking between the two of them, an ever so small tilt of her lips before she spun on her heel and began her march again. Her voice was even and light as she spoke. "The Rikudo Sennin, did not give us chakra, he did in fact though teach us how to call upon it, but chakra in itself did not come to us through him, but through his mother Otsutsuki Kaguya, but you may have heard of her through her other given names such as the Usagi no Megami or the Jubi"

The Jubi? As in the creature that the Rikudo Sennin defeated in the story? Sakura continued though. "She is also the same Kaguya that the story Taketori Monogatori is based off of".

He was skeptical, while she spoke in a tone that stated that she believed what she was talking about, she did not quote any references to back up her knowledge. Hashirama spoke in a contemplative tone, and mentally he shook his head, of course Hashirama would listen to her. "How do you suppose that? You said yourself that Taketori Monogatori is a fairy-tale, so how can you connect the two?"

She spoke in a soft tone, her words clear and even. "Taketori Monogatori is a fairy-tale but Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was a real person, you believe that the Rikudo Sennin is real yet you question another?"

He decided to speak up his thoughts for once. "The Rikudo Sennin's past is interconnected through our chakra, if it hadn't been for him chakra itself wouldn't exist". Sakura sighed. "Chakra exist because of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, because of her doings all humans are now born with chakra, even the Rikudo Sennin himself would not have had chakra if not for her".

While she spoke as if she knew what she was talking about her knowlege was no correct. Sakura then turned around on them and crossed her arms over her chest, green brow lifted expectantly as if she was silently daring him to question her. He did. "Where is your proof? What references do you use? What scholars support your claims?"

She tapped a nail on her bicep and he knew she didn't like being questioned as she was, instead she stumped him with her own question. "Where do you think the Rikudo Sennin comes from?"

While he had the best tutors given to him as the heir of the Uchiha's he could not actually claim to know that such a thing had been taught to him, so instead he looked over to the only other properly educated person in the group, Hashirama. Who looked to be deep in thought. Sakura turned to look at the Senju as well as she tapped on her bicep expectantly. "Well?" The audacity she carried with her was outstanding.

Hashirama looked at Sakura then as he questioned her. "Do you know where the Rikudo Sennin comes from?" Sakura stopped her tapping immediately. "Where he was born, no longer exist I imagine, especially considering that it would have been destroyed with all other things after his fight with Kaguya but like us he was born from a man and woman".

Hashirama was quick to mock her. "The woman you believe is also a fictional character". Sakura rolled her eyes as before she ripped the scroll from Hashirama's hand, his eyes widened. "Hey!" Sakura placed a finger up as she unrolled the scroll completely and pointed to a name and date. "Look at this date". She put it in Hashirama's face as she continued. "This was written over a thousand years ago, do you know anything about what was happening over a thousand years ago?"

Silence, he could not say that his tutors had ever taught him much about a thousand years ago, he only knew about the Rikudo Sennin. Sakura sighed. "A millenium ago the world was covered in bloodshed, everywhere you turned people were killing each other for no true reason or means to an end". He stopped her as he remembered a story his mother told him and his brothers when they were children. "The March of Kali". Sakura nodded her head in agreement. "As some historians called it ... anyways, how is it possible that this!" She held up the scroll. "Was written when there is no other literature from that era, not a single scrap of historical documentation from this time and yet, this fairy-tale exists ... Why?"

Why indeed? Sakura handed back the scroll to Hashirama as she spoke. "That fairy-tale is how the Rikudo Sennin remembered his mother, this is how the Rikudo Sennin wanted the world to remember his mother".

Sakura continued. "The Rikudo Sennin was a great being, but Kaguya, she was even greater". Her way of speaking was dizzying as he tried to listen to her. Hashirama thankfully spoke up. "She was an alien wasn't she? At least in the story she ended up being from the stars". Sakura looked away from them then and up at the sky she sighed up at the blue sky before she closed her eyes and inhaled gently.

"There's no way that a human could do what Kaguya and the Rikudo Sennin achieved". She looked back at them carefully and he realized then that she was holding something back. "The Gods of old I suppose, You believe that the Rikudo Sennin was real when he in fact is was most probably a being from another world but you can't believe in the idea of him having a mother".

She shook her head and began walking her invisible path once more. "You know the two of you should already know this history though, especially the origins of the Rikudo Sennin and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki".

She was baiting them and he was curious. "Why do you say that?" She stopped again in her tracks and looked over her shoulder, dimples deep and green eyes shinning like two gemstones. "Well don't you know? The Rikudo Sennin is the Progenitor of the Senju and Uchiha Clans".

The smell of dirt was heavy as Hashirama passed out on the floor, he looked down at the unconscious Senju and back at the green-eyed girl. She only shook her head. "He's hopeless".

Well at least he would be able to be alone with her for a little bit. From the way she stiffened at the sight of Hashirama's prone form, she realized it too. "I'm surprised you're so concerned for him, especially considering what he and his brother had done to you".

She shook her head as she reached into her pocket. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still angry about that, but it doesn't mean that I want to see him like this". She pulled out a vile and popped open the lid and immediately he recognized what she had. Smelling salts. He moved quick and he grabbed the hand that held the vile, gently and turned to look straight into her bottomless green eyes.

"Wait" A green brow lifted on her forehead. "Isn't he your friend? Don't you want to make sure he didn't receive a concussion?" He rolled his eyes. "It's Hashirama, he'll be fine". He released her wrist as he stepped back. "Besides I only want a moment of your time".

For all that bravado she had been displaying before he was rather interested in the way she shrunk back from him as she pulled her wrist from his grasp, rubbing at the bandaged skin. "What do you want?"

He took a step towards her then and she took a step back, so unlike the girl from yesterday, but then again this girl didn't have her chakra or any weapons like she did yesterday. It was obvious to him that she knew that she wasn't in any position to fight him off. So he pushed her all the way into the trunk of a tree, her back hit it softly.

"Eye pain, blurred vision, memory loss, vertigo, dizziness and headaches are only some of the side effects that happen when a concussion is left untreated". She wanted him to look back at Hashirama, but he knew that was only for her to use as a distraction, he wouldn't take the bait. "You're incredibly intelligent aren't you?" Her large green eyes looked up at him in bewilderment, it was obvious that she wasn't expecting that. He continued. "It takes years to master medicine, and I bet it takes even longer to figure out how to use chakra in the form of a medical treatment and you're even knowledgeable on democracy, the inner workings of clans, you know how to fight, and you even know how to heal the efffects of the Sharingan".

She met him with a defiant glare and he continued on. "The Uchiha healers have spent centuries upon centuries trying to find ways to combat the effects and yet you a non-Uchiha, an outsider healed Izuna's within a weeks time, it takes a lot of knowledge of the Sharingan to be able to even attempt any sort of healing" Her glare intensified. "What's your point?"

She knew that she couldn't take him, but she was still so ... defiant? "Who are you?" Green eyes large and shiny and empty, nothing like the multi-dimensional stones her colored eyes mimicked. She took in a deep breath, her eyes hard and cold conveying just how similar she was to emerald gems, her words just as harsh. "I'm the person helping you and your friend by funding you all with the means to create a shinobi village". Straight and to the point, no beating around the bush, he liked it, it was real.

"Why though?" She looked up at the sky again her green eyes almost looking like the blue of the sky and she turned to look back at him, defiant as ever. "Because I can"

Obviously intimidating her with just his mere presence and body didn't do much, he wondered what would happen if he used his Sharingan on her.

There was a groan in the background. Hashirama was coming too. Sakura noticed quickly but she was grabbed his attention back to her. "Perhaps instead of asking why I'm doing this you should be grateful, especially considering the only thing I've asked in return is nothing compared to what I'm giving". She pushed passed him then and he took in a deep breath.

Why though would she do all this? Another groan and he turned to watch as Sakura helped the Senju up to his feet. "How are you feeling?" Hashirama was obviously fine, just the idiot always did enjoy the caring nature of women.

He watched as Hashirama rubbed himself against Sakura who stopped in looking over the Senju when she realized what he was doing. Quickly she pushed him away. "You're such a pig!" Hashirama stood up straight as he watched the girl stomp away. disappearing behind green bushes and large tree trunks. He looked back over at Hashirama. "Feel better knowing you rubbed up against her?" Hashirama shrugged his shoulders. "She smells good".

Of course that's what was on his mind. "She's wrong you know". Hashirama's ears perked up. "What was that?" He smirked at the Senju. "I said the girl, she's wrong, you're not a pig ... more like a dog in heat". Hashirama's face fell and a raincloud appeared before him. That was much better. His large dark eyes looked over at him in a way a puppy or kitten would look at him and he lifted a brow in question. "How can you say such a thing Madara? I thought we were friends?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "That's exactly why I'm being honest with you" He started in the direction that Sakura had left off in but stopped at Hashirama's words. "Do you think she's telling the truth? ... About the Rikudo Sennin?"

He looked up to the sky then and wondered if he stared hard enough if he'd see what she saw, instead the sun stung at his eyes and he looked back towards the ground. Unsure how to answer the question. "Even if she is telling the truth it wouldn't matter, the Rikudo Sennin died over a millenium ago and his secrets died with him".

"No they didn't". He turned back quickly to see Sakura standing there in the shade of the tree's, her green eyes glowing, her voice and words confident. "The Rikudo Sennin died yes, but he his secrets ... Those can be found in his teachings". Hashirama took a step forward. "How do you know all this?"

Sakura blinked. "Because I had to learn as well". She took a step. "When I get you two back to your clans we can talk about it more, until then, we need to stop wasting time, the suns already high up and we've already wasted too much time".

She closed her eyes then and took a deep breath before opening those large eyes of hers. "Actually, we need to take reevaluate our timeframe, come". She turned around and continued on her way. Yelling out as she did. "Or the two of you can stay there which is better for me". He sighed, he knew she would much rather do this on her own.

"Come on idiot, lets go" They followed Sakura to a large clearing with a small tea house.

An elderly woman was outside cleaning the front steps with a broom when she noticed them. Hashirama was the first to speak. "Huh would you look at that a tea house in the middle of nowhere". Sakura shook her head. "Not the middle of nowhere exactly, civilian maps are slightly different than that of shinobi maps, the trails go straight through here".

The elderly woman saw them and immediately went inside the tea house. "And as that is said, be nice, these are civilians, I shouldn't need to say more". He rolled his eyes, he knew how to act around civilians. Hashirama though he wasn't too sure about, but he doubted Hashirama was a worry. "I'm always nice!" Sakura's sarcasm was evident as she sat down on the stairs of the teahouse and slipped off her sandals. "You're oh so nice, especially when you're going about binding innocent women and such".

He sighed as he followed suit, wondering if he should interfere. "Hey! That's uncalled for". Sakura stood up and removed her cloak then, unveiling the very revealing clothing she wore underneath.

"Not really". He stood up as well, clearly he would need to step in between them before things got out of control. "Both of you shut up". He watched as Sakura began to wash her hands in the bowl that had been set up for them. "Remember this is civilian territory, it is a crime to kill or maim any civilian that has not been identified as a target and any civilian woman's death by the hands of a shinobi is punishable by death". Sakura moved out of the way and he repeated her actions.

"And destruction of civilian property can be fined towards all clans involved" The screen slid open then and the elderly woman from before appeared before them. Her head and back bowed perfectly straight as she greeted them. "Welcome". She stood straight and her face was perfect even in her elderly age.

Her black hair was littered with white hairs and her eyes covered with age line but the rest of her was perfectly aged, like a good bottle of sake. Immediately she recognized Sakura and her aging eyes went wide. "Oh Sakura-san I didn't recognize you there!"

Sakura bowed respectively and he noticed then that her bow was perfect and an image of her on the ground, her hands out and her body bent bowed as she pleaded with them filled his mind. Her form had been perfect then too.

"You colored your pretty hair". Pretty hair? Now he was even more curious. He looked over to Sakura then who looked annoyed at the topic of her hair. "Yes, I thought I'd try something different". The elderly woman was harsh in her statement. "Yes, well you thought wrong darling, now if you and your companions will follow me".

He looked back over to Sakura who seemed clearly annoyed at the topic of her hair. Hashirama brushed passed them, a smirk on his face as he got a last word in on Sakura. "Yeah obviously you thought wrong". Sakura's annoyance was quick to turn to anger as she went to grab at Hashirama. Her thin fingers were only milimeters away from grabbing onto Hashirama's hair when he decided to step in grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back before she could touch the Senju.

"I'm gonna kick his ass!" He chuckled softly, truly wanting to see that happen. "Let me go!" He shushed her. "Calm down woman, once we're out of civilian territory you can do what ever you want to him ... I may even be willing to join you in on the fun". Her body relaxed and he found he could actually feelher hard muscles on her skinny belly through the heavy cloak, and she was so warm. If she hadn't pushed his arms away from her he probably wouldn't have let go. "I'm calm". They followed Hashirama towards another room where the hostess escorted them inside. Sakura reached into her cloak pockets and pulled out a small pouch handing it over to the elderly woman as she did so.

"The usual then Sakura-san?" Sakura nodded her head and the woman left the room quickly.

Well that was different. "So much for a typical tea house". He looked over to Hashirama whom seemed to be on the same track of thought as himself. Sakura discarded her black bag and sat with a huff on the tatami mat. "This is possibly one of the best tea houses in Hi no Kuni. Yumi-san and I just have an understanding, I come here and she's paid to serve what I order and look the other way as well". Hashirama sat down across from her and so did he and they watched as Sakura dumped the contents of her bag onto the floor.

Hashirama picked up a weird see through rope and he decided not to touch anything as he watched Sakura snap the rope out of his hands. "Don't touch that! It took me hours to get everything out and sanitized!" Hashirama pouted. "What exactly is all this?" Sakura continued to reach into her bag looking for something that hadn't come out.

"Supplies". He stopped them from going any further. "What exactly do you do that she pretends doesn't happen?" Sakura looked over at him and bent her knee up to her chest, setting her covered arm on her knee and holding up her jaw displaying her bandaged arm.

Ah he got the meaning immediately. Suddenly she twisted herself out of the sitting position she'd gotten in and reached into her cloak once more. "That's where I left it!" She pulled out a scroll then and unraveled it revealing a large map.

Hashirama was the first to speak. "I've never seen a map so large and detailed before!" "For the last couple of years I've been cataloging what I could on this map, territories specifically are very necessary when navigating" She really was a smart one. Sakura pointed to a point on the map. "Here, this is our destination, I believe that in order to cut down our time frame, we need to take the Mizuchi River, we'll be dropped exactly in the Fire Daimyo's lands, but if we run fast enough we may be able to avoid the Daimyo's patrol, then we can hop onto the Haku river and get off at the Ningen Port and from there it's 13 hours away from the border".

Impressive. Hashirama believed so too. "How much time would we be cutting off?" He looked back up to her. " A day and a half, two days if we don't get caught by patrols when we get off". Very impressive, although he was sure he'd heard some bad things about Ningen port. "Isn't ningen port somewhere we should avoid though? Aren't there civilian smugglers there that hire mercenaries to protect their shipments and autonomy?" Hashirama's head whipped back to Sakura quickly who only shrugged. "There is, but the mercenaries that are hired are not shinobi, I could handle them without any chakra".

Well that was good to know.

The screen slid open then and Yumi walked into the room with an elderly man, possible the same age and they walked in with the tea and a small batch of what smelled like sweet dumplings with syrup. The placed the trays before them then and bowed before leaving the room.

The hostess and Sakura really did have an agreement, no a peep from the older woman for anything.

Sakura poured herself tea then before placing the kettle down before them and drinking the tea. While one would believe her to be rude, he realized what she was doing, letting them see that the tea wasn't poisoned. She placed her cup down then and grabbed the kettle once more filling their cups.

"I need to rest, the bindings on my chakra are causing my energy levels to remain at an all time low, I won't make it to the river if I don't rest". She didn't look very pleased with herself having to admit that.

He leaned forward then. "What does it feel like?" Sakura looked up at him with her big green eyes then. "It feels like a leech is sucking the life out of me, we aren't that far from the Uchiha and Senju territories and yet I know I won't be able to continue on much further".

A leech huh ... Well that didn't sound pleasant at all, he leaned back and watched as she ate the dumplings on the tray. "We'll make camp after this then" She shook her head. "I have a safehouse close by, I don't have chakra though so I'll need to instruct the two of you on how to disengage the traps I made".

A safehouse? Nobody knew she existed, what would she need a safehouse for?

Then again, if someone had found her out before Izuna had then it would have been possible that Sakura could have found herself strapped to a stake in front of the Daimyo's palace.

There was a slap and his eyes flew to the middle of the table where he found Sakuras gloved hand clenched around Hashirama's tightly beneath the last dumpling lay. Sakura glared with death in her eyes and Hashirama a challenge in his.

He rolled his eyes as he swiftly moved the plate with the single dumpling over to Hashirama and out of Sakura's reach.

Hashirama smirked at a fuming Sakura and he filed away the information that she liked sweets, even if they were subpar to something the servants in the Uchiha clan could create.

Sakura looked ready to pounce on the Senju who happily munched on the dumpling just then and he wondered if he should save the Senju from her, it wasn't that he underestimated her, even with her chakra bound he was sure she was still capable of fighting, but he wanted to know how much damage she could do to Hashirama. Hashirama was surprisingly the strongest shinobi anyone had ever come across.

And Sakura was ... a very interesting woman.

"Sakura" His neck snapped to look to at Hashirama who was nibbling happily away at the stick the dumplings had been on. He could feel Sakura's hot green stare on them. "It just suddenly occurred to me that I don't even know how old you are".

He looked back over at Sakura who's green-dyed brows had nearly hit the top of her forehead, a sure feat considering its size. "You don't know my age and that's what you realize. Not the fact that you don't know a single thing about me ... Yes that makes perfect sense".

Hashirama shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Then why don't we correct that, tell me about yourself" Izuna had told him how he had tried to get her to talk about herself, where she came from, her family or clan but the girl didn't budge.

He could see it then, she was about to shut them out, she had the same look in her eyes as Izuna had a few weeks ago.

Sakura leaned back then, her eyes never leaving Hashiramas. "There's nothing to tell you". Hashirama pushed harder, if anyone could get the woman to talk it would be Hashirama, he had that ability to make everyone around him love him, share their souls with him.

"There must be something". It was the smallest glimmer but he caught it before she replaced it with an annoyed stare. "There's nothing to know".

It would seem that Hashirama's winning charm was not working on this woman, inwardly he smirked, Sakura was really starting to grow on him.

"Well then why don't you tell us why you're so eager to help us". Sakura looked down at the table then before she sighed. "I'm nineteen" She crossed her arms then and looked away from them.

Nineteen, well he felt much more comfortable knowing she was fifteen, but still, a woman at her age would have been married for three years with children by now. ... Yet here she was. He doubted she was married, no man would have ever allowed their wife to just leave them to help a shinobi clan, and there was no way a woman would just leave her children all alone.

"By the gods woman, why aren't you with your family!" Hashirama looked truly worried just then and Sakura tipped her head to the side. "I am not married if that's what you're suggesting" Hashirama shook his head. "What of your parents? Siblings?" Sakura looked down solemnly for a moment and he knew then that he didn't need to hear her confirm his suspicions. She truly was alone. She spoke in a quiet voice. "They're all dead".

She shook her head then. "Enough of that, why don't you tell me why you want to build a shinobi village?" Hashirama leaned back then with a contemplative look. "How do you know it's a shinobi village we're creating?"

"When one throws around the clan names like Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, Hogomoro along with the word peace treaty, the puzzle pieces kind of puts themselves together". Well wasn't she an observant one. "So, whats it for? Are you trying to separate from the Daimyo's? Or is this like a secret overthrow against the civilian leaders?"

He never realized that it could look that way to the Daimyo's and civilians. ... Well then, they best move things faster before the Daimyo's could think such a thing. He looked over at Hashirama whom looked clearly worried about the realization of what their plans seemed like. He shook his head as he decided to let the girl in on their plans.

"As you can see Sakura-san the shinobi life expectancies aren't very high compared to civilians, starting from birth if a child survives by to see their fourth year, from their females have a life expectancy of anywhere from five to twenty years due to unforgiving circumstances due to their gender. After that, males have a life expectancy from five to twenty-four, if they life to twenty-four, they their life expectancy goes to forty, and if they're a very good shinobi they'll live long enough to know their grandchildren, but the chances of that are every one out of thirty people. With this village, we'll be able to cut off on the fighting, as well as pull any children out of the fray, and resources will be able to be dispensed between the four clans without the fear of loss due to a warring clan, as well an increase knowledge about fighting before allowing anyone to take on any sort of missions, and to add to that missions will no longer be a fighting matter either as we've agreed that not only will children not be allowed to fight unless under dire times, but as well that missions will be handed out, through the clans equally".

Sakura took a sip of her tea again. "Do either of you know anything about villages? The inner and outer workings?" She took another sip and a part of him wondered if she was challenging them on their knowledge.

"First off, if the Daimyo's even agreed to this, you'd have to elect a leader, more so they would be the representative of the village altogether, then you'd have to set laws and regulations within the village that don't challenge anything that they Daimyo has put forth himself unless of course you're willing to contend them, and if you even considered that, you'd have to understand the burocracy of the Daimyo's court to understand if you even had the ability to win such debates at all. On top of that you'd have to create a personal guard specifically for the leader of your village because people are going to try to kill them first before they go after the rest of his court, by which would require enormous amounts of training and vetting for both the selected guard and court members."

Hashirama stopped her, his eyes wide. "How do you know all of this?" Yes, he too was curious. Sakura only rolled her green eyes. "And that's only a small portion of things you'd have to workout, irrigation, farming, livestock, agriculture, finance, then you have to think about the residence and whether you'd be willing to assimulate those that wanted to immigrate to your village and how you'd do this successfully without taking in any unwanted persons by that of the Daimyo".

She brought him up a lot. He had to stop her before she destroyed Hashirama's brain. "Sakura" she blinked owlishly up at him. "Yes?" "Your knowledge of village infrastructure is very impressive" It was there, just a smidge of a blush, an oh so slightly reddening of the cheeks and he wanted interestingly as it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

"At least you could tell me that you've don't more than think up names for your village" Hashirama rubbed his neck with large sad eyes as if he had just been kicked. "I thought that was the most important aspect was naming a village". He sighed for once thankful that Tobirama had some sort of brain in his demonic mind.

He leaned forward just slightly and crossed his arms. "As of right now, we have been discussing the peace treaty only, it is the most important discussions as of yet, and once that had been signed we can move forward with discussing the framework of the village, if you'd like I could allow you to sit in on those discussions"

Sakura scoffed. "Allow me" She huffed indigently and Hashirama got his bearings together. "Hopefully as soon as the peace treaty is signed Ashina-san, the leader of the Uzumaki clan will have made it to the mainland, due to his position I think we can learn a lot from him, he's a very good leader if considering he's been leading the village for twenty years".

"Sixty years". His eyes met hers then and he noted that she wasn't looking at either of them as she avoided by picking up her teacup once more and sipping at it carefully. He looked over at Hashirama then whom was scratching at his neck. "Sorry my knowledge on the Uzumaki clan is not very well versed".

"Obviously, because you would know that Ashina-_sama_ is not a chief of the Uzumaki, but the Daimyo of Uzushiogakure and is a member of the Uzumaki the royal clan of Uzushiogakure as there are more clans that make up the village and by marriage are related to the Uzumaki, and yes Ashina-sama would make an excellent source of information to regards of building up a working base for a village as he's been carrying his village since he was nine years".

Hashirama tugged his arm then obviously flustered at being told something he should have known as he was marrying into clan. "Stop it!" He pulled his arm away from the larger man. "Madara!" Hashirama looked over at Hashirama once more whom looked back and forth between him and Sakura before whispering carefully. "I think she's a spy!" He looked over at Sakura who had rolled her eyes obviously hearing what the loud-mouth had just whispered to him. He pushed Hashirama away from him as Sakura sighed. "Not even, and if I had been you whispering about it at a level I could hear would not be helping in your case where as if I hadn't known of your suspicions you would have been able to catch me actually spying on you, and yet you still have yet to conclude your statement because you haven't deducted whom I'm spying on you for".

He looked back over at Hashirama who's eyed were as wide as plates and he looked to be sweating from pure embarrassment. He smirked at the Senju. "She really got you there". Hashirama glared at him as he looked back at Sakura. "Say Sakura-san". She looked over at him boredly. "You seem to know a lot about the Uzumaki" Before he could say anymore Sakura was already explaining. "As I said earlier I've been documentating my travels" She pointed at a spot in Ketsueki Bay where fine calligraphy pinpointed where Uzushiogakure was. "Was there a few months ago, in my opion if your gonna travel to place outside your country, then perhaps you should learn about where you're going, it seems only logical".

Sakura's large green eyes looked over at Hashirama and he knew then that she was taking a harsh jab at the Senju and his lack of knowlege for a clan that he was marrying into.

Still though he wondered what would have taken her to the islands?

Uzushiogakure wasn't exactly known for much. Looking back at the woman before he looked her over once more, he doubted she was a Uzumaki, she didn't have the coloring, especially with her green eyes. He'd met with representatives of the Uzumaki clan when he was younger, all the younger had red-red hair, like tomatoes, and the elderly with white hair the color of the moon, and the main representative with his creepy eyes the color of violet flowers, while the others had black eyes. His father had been put off by their looks, not bothering to even consider a marriage proposal by them just for their looks.

After his father died and they'd contacted him again with a proposal, he'd discussed the possibilities of marrying Izuna to a Uzumaki woman with the elders. All of them reminding him of the fact that Ashina had not one son and all daughters, who had birthed all daughters, whom had also birthed all daughters, even now with his newest wife he'd been given another daughter. With that knowledge the proposal was turned away.

Sakura suddenly rolled up the map and put it in her pack just as the hostess walked back into the room with another kettle for them.

The hostess bent down carefully as she switched out the teapots, pausing for a single second as when she turned to look over at Sakura before she sighed and stood up gracefully.

"Sakura-san you need to change your bandages". Sakura looked confused for a moment before they all looked down at her wrists and noted that they were strained with blood.

"There are bandages and medicine in the storage, help yourself". Sakura nodded her head as she stood up, leaving her pack behind.

He knew that she left it in order to reassure them that she wasn't going to run away. He doubted she would, she needed Hashirama to undo the seals.

The hostess sighed as she picked up the empty platter. "I knew eventually that girl would be caught". He looked over at the hostess, it was obvious that she knew Sakura wasn't a normal woman, but now it was confirmed that she knew exactly why Sakura was special.

"How long has she been coming here?" He was curious as to how long Sakura had been in Hi no Kuni. "I'd say something about a year now, but it's very sporadic, she comes and she goes".

A year! He looked over at Hashirama whom was just as surprised as he was. A year and nobody till now had seen her. The hostess lowered her voice then. "I would be careful with her though, don't want the Daimyo's to find out about her".

This time he was confused. "What do you mean?" He understood that someone would get in trouble because of her chakra being unbound, but at the moment in time it was sealed. The hostess put her hands on her hips. "Do you even understand what you're traveling with there?" He looked over at Hashirama who was clearly interested in what this civilian had to say.

She looked at them with pity. "By the gods you don't". She looked back at the screen for a moment before she looked back at them. "The daimyo's can't ever find out about that girl, they'd kill her on the spot". Hashirama sounded as confused as he was. "Her chakra has been sealed though, it wouldn't make sense for them to kill her".

"The Daimyo's won't care about whether or not she's sealed, the moment they find out about her chakra they'll kill her and all who know about her. The Daimyo's run this country with fear and power and Sakura ... well now, they find out about what that girl can do, no one will be safe from the Daimyo's".

"But why though?" He rubbed his neck. Trying to figure it out for himself, the hostess eyes were serious then and her voice grave. "Sakura is a living God". He shook his head when he heard Hashirama start to choke on his tea. Quickly he hit the Senju on his back as he turned back to the hostess. "Sakura is not a God". She shrugged her shoulders.

"Tell me then Shinobi-san what else would you call a being that holds the power of life and death in the palms of their hands?" She looked over at Sakura's pack and picked it up continuing on. "There's a story I was told as a child" She pulled out the map that Sakura had stuffed in the bag and rolled it onto the tatami mats. "About a woman who'd given birth to a child, a kings bastard child, but this girl was special". she unrolled the map completely and his eyes widened as he noticed that it continued beyond Oni no Kuni country. "She could control nature and bend the will of others, she was a god, and her people feared her and tore her apart, all because they didn't understand her ... since then our world has been cursed to kill each other. The Daimyo's can't have someone walking around with power like Sakura's so they kill all those that have it, and destroy all those that know about it" She pointed towards a small country beyond the five nations then. "Beyond the five Daimyo's grasp she can thrive".

She rolled the map up then and placed it back in Sakura's pack "She won't go for it though, whatever she's doing, she has a need to keep coming back here, but if she's sealed perhaps maybe she'll listen, but then again, nobody's ever made it out of the five nations alive".

What was Sakura doing in the five nations? Did she know how dangerous it was to be her alive? That wasn't really the question at all because he knew she would know, and he knew she didn't care or else she wouldn't be there. Especially so out in the open as she was right now. Sakura was taking a huge chance on them by revealing herself, she wouldn't have known that the Uchiha or the Senju wouldn't turn her in. Then again, perhaps she did know, she revealed herself to Izuna and Tobirama first, perhaps that was her way of testing the waters?

"I'll be going now Shinobi-san". She turned away then and left them with their thoughts.

"Madara". He looked over at Hashirama who looked serious then. "What should we do? If what the hostess says is true then we are putting not only ourselves but our kinsmen at risk". He looked back over to the screen. "I told you it would be better to keep her close ... besides who knows about her anyways? If she's been in Hi no Kuni for at least a year and not even we knew about her until recently then I doubt anyone else actually knows that she has chakra".

Hashirama didn't look comfortable with it though. "She said she went to Uzushiogakure though, people must have seen her". Now he was being paranoid. "Maybe people have seen her, maybe they haven't, you heard the woman earlier, Sakura changed her hair color, perhaps the previous color wasn't even her original either, if people were to have seen her, I doubt the she showed off the fact that she had chakra anyhow".

Hashirama turned to him then and gave him a look that his father had given him once, it wasn't a good feeling. "Madara, I can tell you are attracted to her, but do not let it cloud your judgement". He knew he didn't like that look for a reason.

"Oh I am very attracted to her, but that hasn't hindered my ability to think logically like it would you for instance, logically though Sakura is someone we need to keep on our side. Her healing abilities are chakra based and that means she can teach both the Uchiha and Senju how to heal like she does. Sakura pointed out something very important though, we can't be sure that the Daimyo's will even allow us to build this village. If they don't they will likely try to kill all of us and then Sakura's healing abilities will be more important that ever".

Hashirama still didn't seem convinced. "Madara, you're asking me to put my clansmen's lives on the table for a girl that could get us all killed you understand that right?" "The Uchiha will be just as culpable as the Senju will be, besides you really think the Daimyo's army or even the Imperial Guard are any match against our clans when put together?"

Hashirama sighed then as he took a sip of his tea. "She's rather intelligent for a woman of her age don't you think?" He sighed back to Sakura it was then. "She's rather intelligent in general". Hashirama took another sip of his tea before setting it down and looking over at him again. "Begs the question about her upbringing".

What was he getting at? He took in the Senju who was looking over at the pack that Sakura had left. "Tobi believed her to be a stray at first, perhaps she wasn't in the beginning ... I don't like how she knows things that you and I don't". He turned to him then and Hashirama looked at him as though he didn't want to speak his next words but he did. "We need to see what her guts are made of".

He didn't like that at all.

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**With the Corona Virus effecting the world right now I'd like to hope that all of your are safe and healthy.**

**Anyways**

**thank you for reading. See you in the next chapter!**

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Reviews are welcome.

Translations:

Nīsan - Older Brother

Otōto - Little Brother

Udon no Kuni - Land of Noodles

Kama - Japanese sickle/scythe

Gunbai - War Fan

Godaime Hokage - Fifth Fire Shadow

Shodai Hokage - First Fire Shadow

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique

Nakama - Friends

Meisaigakure no Jutu - Hiding with Camouflage Technique

Henge no Jutsu - Transformation Technique

Mizu no Kuni - Land of Water

Hōrō-sha - The Wanderer

Hakke no Fui Shiki - Eight Trigrams Sealing Style

Tensei Ninjutsu - Life Transfer Techniques or Reincarnation Ninja Techniques

Shimo no Kuni - Land of Frost

Kaminari no Kuni - Land of Lightening

Hi no Kuni - Land of Fire

Tetsu no Kuni - Land of Iron

Sora-Ku - Sky Ward

Ninso - Ninja Monk

Mizuchi - Japanese River Spirit

Ningen - Ember

Ketsueki - Blood

Oni no Kuni - Land Of Demons

_\- Aethi_


	6. Chapter VI : Multi-Faceted

Authors Note

This story has been adopted from the wonderful Forever Gypsy.

All characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi.

Sorry for the long wait ... I broke my laptop and had to save up for another one. ...

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**Chapter **

**V**

_**... Multifaceted ...**_

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It stunk, it stunk like something she'd never smelt before, she glared at the two porcelain jars in front of her, not understanding how modern medicine could have come from these stinking formula.

Looking around the storage room filled with similar jars stuffed with herbs and tea mixtures she couldn't believe that the teahouse owners hadn't used her herbs to make the salves smell any better. She glared harder at the jars, how the hell was she to even know how to use those anyhow? Nobody trained in ancient medicine anymore, she wasn't sure if she was even allergic to whatever was in those little jars.

God how pathetic, no chakra and she didn't know how to care for herself. Bending down all the way she placed her head on the table and groaned, her wrist really hurt and she knew that when she removed the bandages that it wasn't going to be pretty. Groaning she banged her head on the table. Why hadn't she just left, she should have just left.

She knew why, and it was dangerous, he was dangerous and he was ... so handsome. A perfect example of the Uchiha's accomplished selective breeding. Perfectly aristocratic in facial looks with the brutal sharp curves of a warrior.

Sasuke was handsome, the entire village had believed that and being he was nearly a dead-ringer for Izuna, that meant admitting that he was handsome as well, and supposedly Itachi had been considered even better looking than his younger brother at thirteen. The reality of it though was that neither came close to the true beauty that was Uchiha Madara.

Indra's chakra had really done itself up in it's packaging it would seem. One would think she would have been prepared for this, considering that Sasuke had been attractive as well ... Sasuke though did not even touch the surface of how attractive Madara was.

_Uhhh! _She closed her eyes and banged her head against the table. A deep voice rippled into the room. "So this is where they keep all their herbs". She lifted her head and looked over at the doorway. Madara stood there in all his glory.

_... And the devil shall come knocking. _

"Can I help you?" He shrugged his shoulders as he moved into the room, pulling out the stool across from her and sitting down. "You've been gone a good while, just making sure you weren't making any escape plans with the help of the civilians here". She scoffed. "Yeah because a civilian teahouse owner is going to be able to help me with getting this stupid thing off" She took a deep breath trying to calm down her boiling anger. "Ever think I just needed some time to myself especially considering I have to deal with you and that thick-headed pig". Madara smirked reaching over and looked at the jars of salve. "Hashirama isn't as bad as you'd think, your judgment is clouded by your anger towards him".

Madara's nose scrunched when he put a jar up to his nose, her own scrunching in disgust at the remembrance of the smell. He placed it down and smelt the next one, his nose in a permanent scrunch as he frowned. "Surprising that they didn't bother using their collection to make these smell better". His took off his gloves then and his hand beckoned for hers, she handed him her good wrist.

His hand was warm as hers slid into his, it was that warm feeling you got when you sat in front of a fireplace on a dark snowy night. She held her breath when she saw him frown.

She looked away from him then. "Your skin is incredibly cold". She nodded refusing to look over at him. "I get cold very easily". She knew she didn't need to see his face to know he didn't believe her.

Instead he began unwrapping her wrist. "You didn't clean this yet?" How was she supposed to tell him that she wasn't sure how to care for her wounds without her chakra. "I was going to, I just wanted to catch my breath". His fingers dipped into the salve then rubbed the mixture between his fingers before he smoothed it onto her skin.

With her skin in an extremely sensitive state, she instinctually tried to pull her wrist away with a hiss. Madara smirked. "Sensitive" She breathed in hard as he continued rubbing the mixture in. "It's healing nicely, I gather it's because you had healed yourself in-between sealings, repeated burns don't usually look as nice as yours". She would bet he would know. "I suppose you have much experience in the matter to know what it should look like". He dipped his hand in the next jar as he looked up at her.

"You're rather quick to judge" He smoothed the next ointment onto her skin then. "The Senju have experience in sealings, that's rather obvious in how quick they were about the situation, but Izuna and myself have never sealed a woman, my experience in burns comes from the fact that we Uchiha have an affinity towards Kenton Jutsu's, and when training one does tend to get burned quiet a bit, so I think my experience has taught me somethings about caring for burns".

She shrugged her shoulders. "I think I'm allowed to make my judgments". He placed her hand down then. "Making judgements from the shadows isn't very wise"

He placed her hand down and picked up the bandages and continued. "You know, it doesn't hurt to let people in". There was a pull towards him, an invisible string that connected to him and Hashirama, other humans that she ignored, she couldn't let them in no matter what, it was too dangerous. Dangerous for her, dangerous for them.

"I like my solitude" Madara scoffed. "Liar". She breathed hard and exhaled harshly as he finished and put her hand down. Beckoning her to give him her other wrist.

Slowly she moved her wrist towards him. Her heart beating in her chest, watching as he began to unwrap the blood stained bandages from her wrist. His Sharingan was activated, he would see the fracture she'd made in the seal and he would no doubt have Hashirama redo it.

"Fuck!" He slid out of the chair then and left the storage room, she looked down at her wrist and cursed herself. The branding was infected, she knew that there was consequences for calling upon her chakra with a seal, the seal was designed to cause more burning to the skin as punishment towards the one attempting to use their chakra.

She banged her head on the table then, Hashirama was going to tell Tobirama about this and Tobirama would definitely convince Hashirama to keep the seals on her.

Gods she was so stupid! She shouldn't have passed out and allowed Izuna or Tobirama to see her face, she should have waited for Batsuma to make a move on Hashirama and then strike, she wouldn't have hit her head, wouldn't have gotten caught and she would still have her goddamned chakra.

_'She what!' _That would be Madara telling Hashirama about her seal no doubt.

Madara walked back in then, in his hands he held a bowl with a teapot sitting inside it, towels laid on his broad shoulders. Hashirama followed him. A long sigh escaping him as he looked at her wrist. "It shouldn't be this bad". Hashirama looked down at her and she placed her head back onto the table. Madara sat back down and began cleaning her wrist off with the rags. Revealing her seal to his red eyes, those magic eyes moving up towards her green ones.

He saw it. "Hashirama". She begged him with her eyes, _please don't tell him_. If only he could read her mind. "Can you stop standing there and get me more towels and clean water".

Hashirama ran out of there quickly. Madara sighed. "You are possibly the most intelligent person I've met in a long time Sakura-san, I don't think even Tobirama would have been able to break a seal without obtaining any blood". She breathed out carefully finally. "Are you going to tell him?" He continued to clean her wound. " No, you won't have any time to try to continue to break the seal, so there's no reason to tell him, even if you find time to try though I think it would be best not to try, it's rather obvious that you can't call on even a small portion of your chakra even with this fracture you've created and the consequences are to severe".

Hashirama walked back in then with more towels and another bowel and teapot. Shaking his head at her as he grumbled to himself. Madara's words captured her attention quickly though. "This infection is far, we may have to get rid of this wrist". She immediately pulled her hand away. "No!"

Madara raised a brow at her. "You do understand that if we don't get rid of it now, the infection will spread and it will seep into the rest of your body". She counted the beats of her heart and breathed carefully as she came to the realization that he was right. She looked over at Hashirama whom was glaring at the floor with his arms crossed over her chest. He wasn't going to unseal, Tobirama would have urged him not too and Hashirama seemed to lean on Tobirama for logical thinking.

There was only one thing left to do. The chance of it working was a fifty-fifty, but considering that she could lose her wrist the more painful way she saw that it was still a fifty-fifty chance of keeping her wrist.

"I can teach you how to heal it" She looked between the two of them then. Hashirama's hands dropped to his sides then. "It takes years to master healing, you don't have years". She shook her head though.

"Traditional healing yes, but what I do isn't exactly traditional". Not in this era at least. "Burns are relatively simple to heal, infections are easy to clean, all of what I do is rather easy so long as you know the human anatomy as well as have good chakra control, especially good chakra control, if you don't have that then it run the risk of damaging the body worse than before".

They were both watching her and she knew that they were debating what she was suggesting. "Hashirama" Madara started and she looked over to him as he continued to clean up wrist with the water. "I believe you should take this opportunity to learn what she's willing to teach". His red eyes flashed brightly then and she rolled her eyes. Of course he'd suggest Hashirama learn. Madara had the Sharingan, it recorded all jutsu's save for Kekki Genkai of course.

Hashirama gulped loudly then as he nodded his head. "Okay then". She looked back over to Madara, Hashirama didn't seem so confident about this.

Hashirama looked around then before he found a stool to sit on, he faced her then and wrung his wrist.

_Oh Gods! _She completely forgot Naruto was not good at learning things like this. "Perhaps the Uchiha should do this?" She looked over to Madara whom only smirked at her, knowing that she'd realized Hashirama's biggest flaw.

Hashirama shook his head though. "I can do this". So very much like Naruto, not refusing to give in. She nodded her head then. "Okay then, since your going to be healing the burn this should be rather simple since it's your chakra inside the seal and your chakra that activated the seals" Hashirama wrung his hands again.

_So, so very the same. ..._She reached out with her good hand then and placed it on top of his shaking ones. "Calm down and breathe, close your eyes and follow my voice" He did as she said and she let go of his hand then. "Good now clear your head of all thoughts, now breathe in and then out". She took a breath as well.

Naruto probably would have been a half decent student if Iruka or Kakashi had realized sooner that Naruto's mind was constantly spinning rapidly. It was why Jiraiya had been able to teach him so easily compared to the other two, he understood immediately what was going on in Naruto's head.

"Breathe in and out Hashirama, listen closely to my voice, now realize that healing is like any other jutsu one can learn and the foundations are all the same" His brow quirked.

"What's the foundation of a Jutsu?" Good lord, this was the man that went on to train the Sandaime. Madara scoffed and she shushed him quickly. "The foundation of all Jutsu's is intent, the second most important part of a jutsu is chakra release". Madara crossed his arms and leaned forward then. "To heal someone means to save someone's life, and right now the intent you need to focus on is to heal the burn, undo the damage the burn has done, and you need to release you chakra and force it into the burn and surrounding skin with as little chakra as you can, now I'm going to place my hand on the table and you can open your eyes". Hashirama breathed in deep then and she continued. "Place your hands above my wrist by four inches now" Now was the moment she told him to do something that, that she'd never suggest to any shinobi. "Now close your eyes and call up on your chakra and force it into me, but slowly and remember the intent, you need to force your intent into your chakra as well, you intent needs to be stronger than your force of chakra". He nodded his head and she breathed sharply as she felt his chakra enter her system.

Just like Naruto, Hashirama's chakra felt like bathing in sunshine. It would make sense considering it was Asura's chakra that both carried. ... She looked over to Madara then a tilt of her head. She wondered what his chakra felt like. ... What did Indra's chakra feel like? Was it as dark and decomposed as Zetsu's. Sasuke had never let her near him enough to feel his chakra so intimately even during the war.

Madara's eyes moved over to her and she looked down at her wrist again. ... She wondered what her chakra felt like.

Hashirama made a small squeak then and she knew she needed to get back to what needed to be done. "That's amazing". Good he could see where his chakra was. "Good now imagine the skin repairing itself, you need to keep forcing your intent into your chakra and making sure that your chakra release is slow and steady ... how water travels distances to get to the ocean". She felt it, his chakra beginning to slowly force her skin to speed up it's healing process, not as fast as what she could do, but it was better than nothing.

"Keep that thought, your doing good". She turned her head around "I need two bowls, one with water and one without water and the same herbs that Yumi-san used in her ointment, steeped in the water, can you get that for me?"

Madara nodded his head then and left the room quietly. She wasn't sure what herbs she had in this storage room, and she wasn't in a position to check to see which was what so the best chance was to have Yumi give them the ointment ingredients.

Madara came back quickly with Yumi and the tools she requested, He placed them on the table and sat down, his eyes glowing bright as he looked at the progress of her wrist. "Is your healing Jutsu truly that simple?" She looked back down at her wrist as well. "It's only easy if you are capable of controlling your chakra flow, if not, you will inflict more damage then there originally was, or you could end up killing someone, the two of you are renown for your chakra control so learning this would be simple for you".

She stopped and realized what she had said and took a breath, she just gave away something she shouldn't have and there was no doubt in her mind that Madara knew it. She wouldn't look back to him as her mind began to race and she kept her eyes on Hashirama.

"Interesting, I didn't know people could gage one's chakra control by fighting them". Finally she looked up at him. "Of course you can, you Jutsu's are powerful and anyone that gets near the two of you can tell that you have an abundance of very powerful chakra, it doesn't take a genius to realize that you'd have to be able to have excellent chakra control in order to pull off the Jutsu's you do".

Danger averted, Madara was content with her answer.

Yumi then placed the herbs on the table as she bowed before before straightening up once more. "Will you need anything more then Sakura-san?" She shook her head and Yumi left the room.

"Place the herbs in the bowl and steep them with warm water, after you fill the bowl, beginning adding chakra to it, this will allow maximum absorption".

Madara nodded his head as he did as she said then she turned her attention back to her wrist and saw that Hashirama was beginning to sweat. "Stop stressing, you can't allow yourself to think about anything other than your healing".

Of course they were in a safe-zone for the moment, but the truth of the matter was Hashirama would be a horrible combat medic, he was too stressed out about the situation and too distracted by his own thoughts.

His healing ability was good though, nothing close to herself, Tsunade and Shizune, but it was good, obviously Tsunade had learned from Hashirama about healing and mastered it where as Hashirama was a scholar, he could take lessons but he wasn't in it to be a healer, it was just another tool in his weapons pouch.

"What's the point of the herbs? Would it not be easier to use the ointment?" She had hoped he would understand what she was doing, but it would seem not.

"The human body is made up of of sixty percent water, at that the heart is made up of seventy-three percent water and the skin is made up of sixty-four percent water, an oil based ointment is only good if the skin is of fair condition, anything less and you'll need to be able to force as much of the antidote as possible into the body and considering that the body and it's organs are all made up of large amounts of water it makes the herbs easier to absorb if your pushing water into water, where as water and oil do not mix".

He nodded his head. She hadn't been too sure if she had explained it well, but it would seem she had. She looked down at her wrist, noticing that it was looking vey good then. "Just because the burns are gone does not mean the infection is, as soon as you've finished with healing the burn, you'll need to begin cleaning out the infection".

Just a little more and her burns would be healed, thankfully Hashirama was unable to see the seals because she knew for a fact that he would have redone them.

"Sakura-san". She looked over to Hashirama. "Yes?" He didn't look away from her wrist. "What happened to your family?"

She could feel Madara's eyes on her at that moment. "They're dead". Hashirama nodded his head. "I thought as much ... How did it happen?" She shrugged her shoulders. "How it always happens, a monster killed them". She didn't feel the need to elaborate.

Her burn was completely healed then. "You can stop and take a breath now". Hashirama leaned back and slouched into the chair then as he breathed out hard. "That is very taxing".

"Your bodies not used to releasing small amounts of chakra like this so it would be hard on you in the beginning, but after a while you don't feel it". He nodded his head and she turned her attention towards the bowl on the table. "Now you only need to clean out the infection before it spreads into the body". She didn't need to see that Hashirama did not look pleased that there was more.

He whined then. "Can't Madara do it? The bowl is right in front of him!" She rolled her eyes and looked to see that Madara had an annoyed look on his face as well as what appeared to be a vein throbbing in the corner of his forehead. He growled "Idiot get over here and finish this!"

Hashirama straightened up. "Don't call me idiot, you idiot!" Oh gods she knew exactly where this was going, she took in a deep breath. _'The apple really doesn't fall far'. _

Madara straightened out ready to strike back and she held up her good wrist. "Stop, just stop" She turned her attention back to Hashirama. "Madara can't do the healing because it's your chakra in the seal and if his chakra and since I'm not familiar with how this seal works completely with outside chakra's I can't take a chance on his chakra clashing against the seal and undoing everything you just healed".

Hashirama leaned back into his chakra. "But didn't he just put his chakra into the water?" She smacked her good hand onto her forehead. "Elements absorb chakra and turn and mix it into it's own chakra until it's all the same chakra".

He looked really shy then as he scratched the back of his head. "Huh I didn't know that about chakra". She took in a deep breath, gods he was dumb. She looked over to Madara who'd forehead vein looked ready to pop then. Shaking her head she turned back to the Senju. "Just get over here so I can instruct you on how to do this next part". He sighed as he moved his chair closer to hers then.

"Now for this part, you're going to need to focus everything on your chakra. You need to place your hand in the bowl and create a bubble of water, you need to keep that bubble and force it into my skin and picking up the infection and dropping it into the empty bowl next you then you're going to repeat the process until all of the infection has been cleaned out, do you understand?"

He nodded his head and she wasn't sure if she should worry now, because he seemed to be very confident considering this was his first time doing this.

Madara distracted her then. "Would this be a good way to clean out poisons?" He really was the intelligent one between the two. She nodded her head then. "Actually this is the process to flush out poisons from the body, the only difference is that you would use an antidote in replace for the herbs though, but only if you knew the poison that you were working with. This Jutsu was created by my Shisho specifically for infections though and then later she used it for poison removal and treatment".

"Hmm" Hashirama looked up at her then. "Your Shisho was a woman?" _Fuck, _She hadn't caught that, well might as well roll with it. She nodded her head then. "Yes, it's not unusual where I'm from for women to practice and teach Jutsu's to other's". Madara was watching her very closely and she made sure not to twitch under his stare.

Hashirama only tilted his head and blinked at her before he turned back towards her wrist. "Why a woman though? Could you not have requested a male teacher? Surely male shinobi were stronger than the females where your from".

She had the oddest feeling that he had wanted to say something extremely sexist just then but she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. "I had two male Sensei's before I met my Shisho, the first one had taught me the basics, most of which I mastered quickly, the other ... well he didn't really teach me anything actually, although he did have his handful with his other students, they were ... very special. When I realized that he hadn't the time or the ability to teach me I moved on and ... Petitioned my Shisho to take me as an apprentice, unfortunately she was only able to teach me, Iryo Ninjutsu and Chakra control, beyond that I'm rather a lame shinobi if I must say so myself".

Of course she wasn't going to let them know everything she could do, better give them half-truths that way they wouldn't call her out in a lie.

Madara though was a curious one. "What exactly are the basics?" He leaned forward on his elbows and she decided then that it was not a good sign, he was trying to pick her brain. "I was taught how to fight, learning how to use my chakra, hand-seals, weaponry" _Genjutsu ... Ninjutsu ... Half-truths, Half-truths. _

"And you mastered these?" She shook her head. "No I mastered most of them I said, obviously I excelled at chakra control and hand seals along with my written teachings".

"I see" Of course he did.

She turned her attention back to Hashirama. "Sakura-san". "Yes". "Where are you from?" "In a land far-far away". ... _And now in a separate dimension. _Hashirama placed her hand down then. "I think it's finished ... It feels ... clean ... I don't know how to explain it". She nodded her head.

Unfortunately she didn't have her own chakra to inspect his work, she'd have to take his word for it. "Grab the ointment, I can't check to see if it's been cleaned enough, but just in case the ointment will be an extra layer of protection". He nodded his head and went to grab the ointments only to stop and she lifted her brow in question.

She didn't understand why he look so confused just then and Madara looked way to amused for it to be good. "Is there something wrong?" Hashirama smiled sheepishly at her as he scratched at the back of his head.

"Sorry Sakura-san I'm just not sure which is the ointment I'm supposed to use ... Normally the healers have it labeled for me to know which is which". She sighed and so smirked.

"It's fine Hashirama, I'll finish this up, go grab yourself a cup of tea, you've worked hard for it". Hashirama nodded his head as he stood up and left the room. "I really have". She really wanted to slap her face because he had not worked hard at all. Was this truly _the _Hashirama? The God of Shinobi? Somewhere along the lines, someone really talked him up in order to cover up how much of a spoilt idiot he was.

"Let me see it". She reached her hand out to him again. Madara dipped his hand into one of the jars again then. "Tell me, did your Shisho or your Sensei's before ever teach you anything about Genjutsu?" The ointment was warm when he placed it onto her skin, nearly melting into her at contact.

"Of course you'd ask that". He rubbed the ointment into a knotted muscle and she bit back a moan, he smirked. "Well it's just a wonder". She glared. "You want to know if I can break a Genjutsu that you've placed". He shook his head though and she scrunched her brows together in confusion, why else would he want to know that.

"I'm sure you can break a basic Genjutsu ... but no I'm trying to figure out how you know anything about the Sharingan". She tried to pull her wrist away then and he held it tightly. "Maybe when these seals are removed I'll let you in on that little secret". He didn't let go of her though. "Not maybe, you will tell me". She breathed in deep, oh how she hated when Uchiha's demanded, she'd had plenty enough of that three years ago.

"We don't even know if I'll be alive long enough after I've returned the two of you along with my gift"

Madara released his hold on her wrist then and blinked at her. "You truly believe that we'd kill you even after you helped us?" She looked away. "Tobirama has made it clear that I'm a threat, I'm sure he's back in the Senju compound attempting to find a way to convince Hashirama to do the deed, possibly even attempting to get your brother behind it as well".

"Izuna would never kill an innocent". "I'm not an innocent though". She leaned forward then, lowering her voice. "You know better than I do, who do you think has been truly running the Senju clan since Senju Batsuma's ... demise". Leaning back she looked straight into his ruby colored eyes.

"You're losing your sight Uchiha, not your wits".

* * *

This woman was intelligent, there was no doubt about that. Not only had she saved his brothers life by healing a wound that everyone else had deemed fatal, she had created a crack in the seal that Hashirama had done to block her chakra. He didn't know anyone- hadn't ever heard of anyone being able to do what she'd done with a seal like hers.

Then the most incredible part of her intelligence was her hidden knowledge about the Sharingan, somehow he'd figure it out, there was no way that an outsider just simply had figured out how to heal an Uchiha's eyes. He wouldn't have judged her if she had said that she'd killed an Uchiha and studied them, he'd seen it many times before, shinobi clans all attempting to get the Sharingan from the Uchiha's body. It was this reason why the Uchiha clan was so closed off to the rest of the world, to many people, too many outsiders were threats to them. Sakura though, she didn't seem like the type of person to kill someone to gain more power, so he doubted she'd killed his kinsmen for their Kekki Genkai. He'd figure it out though, or he'd get her to tell him.

The most interesting thing is that she'd made an educated deduction about the Senju clan and the person that truly ran it. One would have to be around the clan longer than a few months in order to figure out that Tobirama was the brains behind the entire operations. Sakura though had figured it out within twenty-four hours of being around them. Then she figured out what Tobirama was no doubt planning to do with her even if she turned out to be innocent.

Sakura has even considered the fact that Tobirama would put down his beliefs and attempt to sway Izuna into his idea, while he was positive his younger brother wouldn't even consider Tobirama idea of killing Sakura only because he saw her as a threat to himself, he was unable to say the same for the rest of the Uchiha clan.

Most of the elders were still around out of sheer luck that someone else had been killed on the battlefield in their stead, because of this there haughtiness was unpredictable. What wasn't unpredictable was the fact that many of them believed that women were of the lesser sex and that a woman like Sakura, a woman that had learned the inner working of the Sharingan, he wouldn't be able to guarantee that the elders of the clan would out-vote him and Izuna if Tobirama demanded her death.

Sakura knew this too, she understood the innerworkings of clans another thing that would get her killed if she stepped on the wrong toes.

And it would seem that Sakura was not scared of stepping on people to get to what she wanted, or whom she wanted, it was obvious that whatever she was planning involved the peace treaty between the Senju and the Uchiha, and she was very interested about the Village they were planning on creating. While he understood how desperate she was at having her seal undone, he couldn't believe that she'd pay them out how much she was claiming to have, that sort of money, she could by more than just her seals off.

His mind was racing, she'd dropped a lot of interesting things on them. Especially his sight, he didn't know how but somehow she knew about him. Nobody knew about his eyesight.

She continued to stare him straight in the eyes and he leaned forward then, it was possible she was trying to figure something out and was merely guessing. "Sakura-san".

"Yes Uchiha-san". He smirked, what an interesting woman. "How can you tell abut my eyesight?" Her eyesight didn't waver one bit as she stared straight into his eyes.

Perhaps that was truly why she was so attractive to him, she wasn't fearful of the Sharingan.

"You use your Sharingan when it's completely unnecessary, you're not in battle, and your not reading any scrolls, or learning new Jutsu's, therefor I must make an educated guess that your eyesight has deteriorated to at least seventy or even eighty percent and your relying on your Sharingan to get through your day to day routines without anyone noticing. Also I've saw the damage that the Sharingan had inflicted upon Izuna and gathering that your the older of the two, I've assumed that you awakened your Sharingan years before him. Which would conclude my theory that your deterioration started around sometime around the time Izuna awakened his own".

He held in his surprise. She gathered all of that just by observing and looking at Izuna's Sharingan. "How could you possibly guess that my eyesight went bad around the time Izuna got his?"

"Let me ask you this Uchiha-san, how many sets of brothers can claim that both have their eyesight ... or at the very least are both still alive?"

His eyes narrowed, she'd been watching the Uchiha clan, there was no other explanation to it, she couldn't have known anything unless someone had given her information and no Uchiha would ever give up the secrets of there clan, even the ones that had deserted them.

To give up the information of the Sharingan meant destroying the Uchiha clan altogether.

"How long were you watching the Uchiha clan?" Either she was a really good liar or she was really that good about observing and making educated deductions from the observations.

"I didn't need to stalk your clan to figure any of this out, when I had begun healing Izuna's Sharingan I had placed up a barrier in order to keep anyone from being able to enter, my barrier was also able to contain both Izuna's chakra and my own from being sensed. This is why you probably felt Izuna's chakra disappear when you had given chase to us through the forest. Although, the barrier does not keep me from being able to sense chakra's outside of it. The timeframe I had to heal Izuna's most fatal wound was small. I could sense you were near and knew that if you had found us it wouldn't have taken long before you broke down the barrier, during this small timeframe I was able to sense that while Izuna was dying, your chakra was becoming stronger. After healing your brother's wounds and healing his eyes and Sharingan and getting him back to the Uchiha compound I could sense you on the other side of the gates and your chakra signature was not as strong as when Izuna had been dying, which could only mean that the the Uchiha clan's chakra are shared like a bloodline and with siblings this is more obvious to the point when Izuna was dying and you were becoming stronger".

Gods this girl was smart and now he couldn't help but wonder if her getting caught was in her plan all along.

He'd always had a suspicion about the Uchiha clans chakra but now that someone else had been able to observe it up close, who could explain what was happening it made him feel more sane.

At the same time though his gut twisted in a horrible fashion, if the others in the clan ever figured this out, families would get torn apart. "Be assured Uchiha-san that because I value the living more than the dead, this information will not be allowed to be revealed to anyone else, the only reason I'm telling you though is because your love for brother far surpasses your love for anything else".

Was he that easy to read. He decided he was to uncomfortable with that knowledge that he needed to change the subject. He focused his attention on wrapping up her wrist only to notice that her skin was still cold. Such an odd thing, he'd never felt someone so cold before, he was even sure that her body temperature had to be under the normal.

"Still cold?" She looked down at there hands and she nodded. "I get cold easily". That was a bold faced lie and they both knew it.

Finishing the wrapping, he placed her hand down. "Have you considered Izuna's offer?" "There no need to consider it, after once you and Hashirama are back with your clans and my seals are undone I'll be on my way".

"Sakura-san ... I can tell your very accustomed to doing things on your own but you need to realize that your still a female". She glared at him and he knew he needed to say this carefully. "Your also highly intelligent and strong and have amazing chakra abilities, but your still a female and because of that you're still a target, even if nobody has seen you yet it doesn't guarantee that you won't be found out and when that does happen and it will they will seal your chakra away just like the Senju's did and we both know they won't be as kind and you will be raped and then burned alive, and that is why you need to consider your position, even if not with the Uchiha, Hashirama would be willing to protect you from that".

He leaned away from her then. "Allow me to personally extend the offer, my word is law amongst the Uchiha, after that is Izuna, if you come to stay with us I can promise you protection from the outside world, hot meals, and a warm bed in exchange you share your knowledge with the healers of this village that Hashirama and I are building, and any aid you can extend to us in the internal structure of the village".

Her knowledge of village structure as well as politics was possible just as fascinating as her knowledge in healing, both of which would be very useful to his and Hashirama's goals.

Her brows furrowed in deep thought. "Izuna said the peace treaty wouldn't allow me to be bound to any clan". He smirked. "I'm not binding you to the Uchiha, I'm bartering with you. A home amongst the Uchiha's in exchange for your knowledge".

While he couldn't ask her to heal his eyes like she had with Izuna, they had never mentioned anything about her teaching the healers how to heal him. "Of course if Hashirama extends this same offer and you feel more comfortable with him I do advise you to take it".

"You seem so sure Hashirama would even considering taking me in, Izuna doesn't think so though". He shrugged his shoulders, Izuna didn't know Hashirama as well as he did though. "Hashirama is soft when it comes to a beautiful woman".

* * *

Madara had walked away after there conversation and she stayed back trying desperately to hang onto her sanity.

Growing up she'd always had a belief that the Senju had been the good guys and that the Uchiha Clan had been the bad guys. Now everything was painted grey.

It was blatantly obvious that the Senju had basically rewritten history in their favor, specifically Senju Tobirama had written it to with his biased views in order to force the Uchiha to the outskirts of the village. If people didn't fear them, then Hashirama wouldn't have been chosen as the Hokage.

Now that she was actually having to deal with him as a living being as well as before the village was built, it was so painfully obvious that Hashirama should have never been allowed to be in any sort of leadership position. The man nearly bankrupted his own clan by gambling the clans treasury and giving it away to prostitutes! Why would anyone want him as a Hokage?

Then again, none of the Hokage should have been allowed to lead save for two, and between those two, one was still extremely questionable.

Counting to ten she took in a deep breath and released slowly, she needed to clear her mind. There was no way that she would be able to keep going if her mind wasn't focused.

There was a crash outside then and she breathed in deep before standing up as she heard the arguing. She was going to kill him, there was no doubt whatever the ruckus was Hashirama was behind it.

Moving out of the storage room she barely managed to slid the shoji screen open when she got a look at the cause of commotion.

There in the front of the teahouse were three men. Dirty and thin with swords, she could clearly tell they were low level shinobi, most likely minimal chakra to use and not taught how to use weapons.

They were harassing Yumi-san demanding money from her, Hashirama looked clearly ready to fight them and Madara was keeping him contained. It wasn't their fight, even if they could handle the situation, there was no need to alert anyone that an Uchiha and Senju were traveling through Hi no Kuni. There names were big money makers and she needed them alive to continue on her mission.

She slipped her cloak on and fixed her hood, Hashirama and Madara couldn't be found out. It was going to hurt, but she was going to have to crack the seal enough to allow her a small portion of chakra usage.

Pulling out the hair she'd kept in her pocket she force her chakra up, now that she knew how to do it, it was easier to understand what she needed to do to crack it.

Breathing in she held in her cry as the seal burned more, she'd thrown herself onto a blade, been poisoned hundreds of times and beaten and nothing compared to this pain.

This pain was meant for women only, women had a high pain threshold, women who'd given birth had an even higher pain threshold and the person that had created this seal had figured that out. This pain from the seal was worse than even that.

She fell to the floor as quietly as she could and through the gap she could see that Hashirama and Madara could hear her. She felt it then, the crack, the flare and she closed her eyes as she forced the little bit of chakra through her body. This wouldn't take long at all.

Quietly opening the screen enough for her to crawl through she forced her chakra into her hair, it was the quickest solution she had. The chakra forced into her scalp and hair follicles caused a quick lengthening and quickening and she watched as it slithered like snakes behind the three men.

There wasn't enough chakra to heal herself and bring her hair back to it's natural state. ... She'd have to chop it before anyone took notice ... She couldn't let them see her hair.

There was only one family with pink colored hair and she couldn't be associated with them. It was too risky.

Through the chakra connection she could feel her hair begin to wrap around their necks and squeeze tightly. She could feel their hearts slowing down and she reached into her cloak looking for the razors she'd sown into the pocket.

Slower, they were still too conscious for her liking. _'Found it!' _Ripping it out, she began to chop at the quick strands, keeping the connection as long as possible until she'd chopped off the hair completely.

Feeling as though she was about to pass out she leaned herself on the threshold of the shoji screen and focused all her energy on her healing her wrist with the little bit of chakra she had left.

_'Unseal me' _She shook her head, as she reached her good hand up to her forehead. Sure enough her Hyakugou Seal was back and slowly fading away again. _'Use me'_ She ignored the dark voice, nothing good would come from releasing her seal.

_'Let me save you'_ She breathed in deep then out. _'Quiet'_.

Her hands were shaking as she finished healing her wrist. and she reached back into her robs for her bandana. Hashirama and Madara's heads popped into the corridor then and Hashirama looked rather shaken just then.

Surprisingly it was Hashirama that rushed towards her, his eyes with stars and hearts exploding out of them and a gay smile upon his face as he started yelling. "That was so cool Sakura-chan!"

He attempted to help her up but she pushed him away afraid her hood would fall and reveal her hair. "No, I can get up by myself thank you". She and Madara had for sure thought he'd be very angry that she'd cracked the seal. "Hashirama". She looked over to where Madara was standing at the main entrance, his arms crossed over his chest.

"We need to decide how we need to dispose of them". Hashirama frowned then as he rubbed his neck, turning towards Madara as he did so. "Fine, fine, fine". He turned back towards her then, extending his hand.

There didn't seem to be any ulterior motive so she took his hand and allowed him to help her off the ground. "Seriously, you're gonna have to teach me how you did that". He laughed as he let her go then and she leaned against the threshold of the door watching as he walked back towards Madara.

"Well least now I know that I'm getting paid for more than just my tea and food". She turned around to see Yumi watching her and she rolled her eyes. "You're soba could be better for the money I give".

Yumi shrugged then. "I consider it a generous tip". Yumi walked over to her then. "Speaking of a tip, here's one for you, you natural hair is showing, I have some henna if you need it". Her elderly eyes roved her form then. "Perhaps some ginseng as well, you look ready to fall on the floor, quiet happily". She turned away then.

Why did everyone have to have an opinion?

* * *

"I'm rather surprised". He watched as Hashirama continued to dig. Hashirama stuck his head out of the hole just then. "Huh? What are you talking about". He shook his head then. "You need to refill the hole with more dirt, nobody is as tall as you Senju's" Hashirama groaned then and he smirked wondering when the Senju would notice that he was the only digging.

"What were you saying a minute ago?" Oh yet. "You're not angry that she found a way to break the seal?" Hashirama came back up with a groan as he threw the shovel at him. Catching the shovel he smirked.

"Tobirama's not here, I don't see a big deal, she didn't break it anyways, I would have felt that, but she clearly looked as if using up the little bit of chakra she got access to had taken everything out of her, she's hardly a threat".

Did they not see the same thing? "She just choked three men with her hair". Hashirama nodded his head. "Yes, yes she did, but she didn't kill them, so I'd say that she's got a good conscious, and anyone like that she'd be given a second chance".

"Then why not undo the seals completely". Hashirama dropped a body into the pit and looked back at him. "I'm not stupid". Considering that he was doing all the work and hadn't noticed about it yet, that statement was clearly in correct.

"Pity I was really hoping to see her in action". This time the sigh that came from Hashirama's mouth was a happy one. "I know right". There were stars and hearts in his eyes and saliva dripping from his mouth as he clapped his hands in front of him happily. "Did you see what she did! Oh wasn't that just so amazing!" Clearly Hashirama had a crush. He could already imagine Tobirama's reaction when he found out about this.

"You worry me". Hashirama shrugged as he started standing up the thugs in the pit. "Ne how do you suppose they'll stay up while I fill the whole" A part of him really wanted to offer to help, but watching Hashirama do all the work and not realize anything was so much better. "Ah I know! Tobirama just taught me a cool Jutsu!"

Hashirama focused hard as he did it, his chakra flaring as he tried to focus it, his hands signs slow. _'Interesting ... A doppleganger __Jutsu, Tobirama you clever man' _Hashirama's doppleganger did not have as much chakra inside it, but it was physically the same as him, if not better as it didn't seem to have a mouth on it.

Hashirama squeaked as he looked over at his double. "Oh no I'm missing my perfect lips!" He rolled his eyes he really thought he was Gods gift to man. "So does this mean that you don't want me to use my Sharingan on her".

Hashirama shook his head as he began filling the pit with his double holding up the three thugs. "Oh of course, I'm even more curious about her than I was before".

"About her, or what she looks like without clothes?" Hashirama smiled perversely at him. "Well both of course". He smirked. "Careful there, she doesn't seem like the type that would be so happy to hear that".

Another shrug and Hashirama finished filling in the whole, a frown on his face. "You know I have no idea how to undo this Jutsu". He sighed, of course Hashirama would use an incomplete Jutsu. He threw a kunai at the double.

The moment the tip hit the double it turned into smoke. "Seems I figured it out for you". Hashirama's jaw dropped as he turned back to him with a look of shock.

"You just threw a kunai at me!" He nodded his head. "That I did, it felt good to". Hashirama looked between him and where his double had been. "You threw a knife at my head" He waved him off. "Calm down Hashirama, it wasn't like it was actually you, now come on, let's make sure that she's still inside"

Hashirama did not follow him and the tips of his hair stood up, he turned around to watch as Hashirama pulled out a kunai and threw it at him. Catching it in-between his fingers he glared at the Senju. "You idiot!"

"See it doesn't feel good does it!" He growled as he threw the kunai back at Hashirama. "I'm a real person you dimwit!" Hashirama growled. "Don't call me a dimwit you spaz!"

He could feel his annoyance and anger boiling under his skin as he fought back the urge to kill the Senju. "Fine stay out here!"

Sliding open the teahouse he looked around the hallway, he could hear the elderly couple in the back arguing but there was nobody else back there. He moved through the hall and pushed open the shoji where they had been first shown to.

Sakura was on the floor leaning against the screen, her head covered by her hood, he could see even with the heavy cloak the up and down motion of her chest.

Crouching in front of her he noticed that she was asleep, he shook his head. Of course she was, cracking the seal within twenty-four hours must have been exhausting.

His eyes went to her hood and he wondered ...

She had used her hair to choke those three back there. Surely her natural hair was back. He lifted his hand up to her hood them.

Sakura slapped it away. "Touch the hood and the moment I get my chakra back I'll rearrange your organs in a very painful way and then break your hand".

"Hmm". He smirked down at her. He decided to throw her off. "Why do you color it? Your hair?" Throw her off in deed and he watched as she reached up and into her hood pulling at a bandana.

... Now she was covering her hair entirely. She turned her head in a haughty way. "Hmph ... How dare you ask that, don't you know it's rude to ask a lady questions about her appearance!"

Well at least she didn't attempt another lie. "It's for camouflage right?" She scrunched her nose in anger as she wrapped her robes tighter to her body. "It's none of your business". He shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine, fine, but know that eventually I'll find out". She looked away from him then. "Sure when I'm dead".

He stood up then and held his hand out for her and she stared at it before she took it and he pulled her up, her large green eyes meeting his Sharingan, she swayed as she stood and he noticed that she was putting all her weight into holding onto him. "You don't look that far off".

She nodded her head. "It's not enough, I need more chakra, more rest". He nodded his head. "Alright let's go then". He went to pick her up to carry her, but she pushed him away. "I can walk on my own". She stumbled as she started towards the shoji screen.

"Obviously" He sighed as he followed her out, making sure to watch her carefully, she looked ready to fall. "You know it's okay to ask for help" She leaned against the threshold to the outside and glared at him.

"I said I can walk on my own". _Such would a woman ..._ "The safe-house isn't far off, come on, I need your eyes to disengage the traps". He stopped at her words then as he realized what she had said.

She needed his Sharingan to undo her traps, that could only mean that it was a Genjutsu of some sort. ..._So she was taught ..._

He followed her and saw that Hashirama had been sitting in front of the teahouse this entire time, sipping away at a cup of tea no less. "Come on you idiot, she needs to rest".

Hashirama nodded his head as he placed the cup down. "So how much further is it Sakura-chan?" He could almost taste the annoyance that rolled off of the green-eyed woman.

She took a turn behind the teashop and stopped as she looked up and pointed. "There". He looked up his eyes widening at the sight.

Dozens in not more Genjutsu traps surrounded a treehouse at the very top of the trees, so close to the tops he could barely see it beyond all the traps. "This is your work".

Sakura leaned against a tree then, clearly only able to handle standing for so long. "Yes".

This was impressive, he knew of three other clans that were half-way decent enough at Genjutsu, but looking at Sakura's work ... She could give even him a run for his money, and he had the Sharingan.

"If you don't start now, we'll be out here till past the sundown". He nodded his head as he walked up the tree and towards the traps.

Piece by piece he dismantled each one, a part of him wanted to know how powerful her Genjutsu was, if it would affect him if he didn't use his Sharingan. The more he dismantled, the more he saw how she interweaved each one into the other, like a spiders web, but so much more the more he dismantled he saw that she twined it like a beehive, each one working to strengthen the other.

Gods her Genjutsu was beautifully done and terrifying at the same time, someone outside the Uchiha clan should not have been able to do this.

The sun was beginning to dwindle by the time he had finished undoing all her traps and when he came down from the trees he saw that both Sakura and Hashirama were asleep against the tree.

He could almost feel the vein in his forehead wanting to break out of his skin as he stared at the Senju. Sakura he could understand, the seal was already draining what little chakra inside of her she had left and breaking the seal probably took a lot out of her as well, but Hashirama.

The man snored loudly then and he'd had enough. "Idiot!" He kicked the Senju hard smirking as he scrambled to get to his feet, Sakura didn't seem to have been woken from that. She really must have been tired.

"Let's go". Hashirama nodded his head as he looked down at Sakura. "I really don't want to, she's so nice like this". He shook his head. Of course she was nice, she was asleep.

He shook his head. "You're an idiot". They walked up the massive tree and stopped when the got to the shack that may have at one time been nice. It was obvious that it hadn't been used in a while.

It was small, the three of them barely had enough walking room., there was a small cot in the corner of the room and he watched as Hashirama placed Sakura on it.

He looked around the small shack, there room was barren save for a few rocks on the window shield. "Madara look at this". He looked over to where Hashirama was still standing at the small cot, his neck bent as he looked up at the roof. There in fact were tally marks drawn, counting, there were hundreds of them covering the roof. "I wonder if she was counting forward or counting down to something".

He wondered too.

There, behind the bed was more chalk. carefully he moved the bed so as not to wake Sakura and he realized, they were names. Hundreds of names written in repeat.

One stood out though, constantly written over as if making sure she remembered him. _... Naruto_

The shack had nothing to it, just like Sakura, she kept nothing on her person besides her bracelet that would give away whom she was, that made her a real person besides her flesh and blood.

Whatever happened to her, she'd been running and hiding from it to the point that she discarded everything about herself, beyond these names. Whether they were victims or loved ones, it was obvious it was important to her.

Hashirama sighed besides him. "So many secrets for one so young". He looked over at him and he looked back at Sakura once more. "Madara, I believe now would be the only chance you'd have at getting inside".

He nodded his head. "Mold your chakra to mine and close your eyes, this may sting for a second". Hashirama nodded his head as he pushed out his chakra towards his own and closed his eyes.

The feeling of falling entered into his mind and he watched as they dropped into a dark place. Slowly like an ember coming back to life rows of torches began to lite themselves all around them they went and more and more they saw what stood in front of them.

A row of statues lined a wall, as large as a cliffside white marble statues stood, all holding swords in front of them, with cloaks just like Sakura's. Each statue was unique in it own way, one was a large breasted woman with the same seal on her forehead as Sakura, another girl closer to Sakura's age with long hair on one side and bangs covering the opposite, another male statue had a mask covering nearly the entirety of his face and another with a weird smile.

There were two though that stood out the most, the only two that were facing each other. The boy with the spicy hair and facial features that reminded him a lot of Izuna extended his index and pinky finger, while the boy with the shaggy hair and scratches on his cheeks extended his thumb and pinky.

_...Wind and Lightening..._

As the got closer to the statues they all began to turn towards them, he repressed the shiver that ran through his spine. "Madara". Hashirama's harsh whisper let him know he didn't appreciate the feeling either. "I have a feeling this isn't normal". He nodded his head. "No, normally a defense mechanism isn't so ... personalized"

"I don't like that word Madara". He didn't like being here, there was a feeling in the air, a dark aura that was hanging in the air.

Suddenly they heard a cry and the closer they got to the statues they saw the double doors appear and the cries only grew louder. He pressed his ear against the door and heard it more clearly.

Suddenly like a heartbeat the door jumped and he stepped back. Looking over to Hashirama who looked clearly interested on what was behind the door.

"We need to leave Hashirama, we got to the wrong place". Hashirama opened the door then. _... 'The Fool!'_

Hashirama walked in then. Looking back to the statues he noted that they hadn't moved since the doors had opened. He took a deep breath and walked into the room.

He felt the harsh ice hit his skin and he shook himself. No longer were they in a dark room, now they were surrounded by nothing but snow and ice, it was so cold to the touch it almost burned.

The crying got louder the further in they went, but there was nothing, no matter how many hills they walked up or how far across the frozen desert they seemed to cross they neve came near anything. He turned to Hashirama then. "I think I understand it now, she broke up her defense mechanism into parts, I think this is the second and last layer".

Hashirama nodded his head as he shivered. "Oh yeah then what's that you idiot!" Hashirama pointed towards what looked to be two frozen mirrors that had suddenly appeared before them.

_... And the cries were now louder. ... _

A screeching began _'Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!' _It was a horrible sound like two stones scraping against one another. _'My chakra! I want my chakra you retched child!'_

Deep down he knew they shouldn't be there. He turned towards Hashirama. "We really need to get out of here, the farther we go the harder it will be for us to find our way back and we risk taking with us a part of her mind". Hashirama nodded his head. Finally on board with him.

As they turned away from the mirrors a screech sounded and the both turned to see the mirror doors open, the snow and ice next to the opening beginning to melt immediately. That was a very bad sign.

"Perhaps we should just go check to see what's in there!" Before he could reject that idea Hashirama was already running towards the opened mirrors nearly slipping as he did so. He screamed then before he slipped back and crawled away from the opening.

He walked over to where Hashirama was frozen in fear and stopped in his tracks, the heat was stronger than anything he'd ever imagine and he felt as if everything was on fire. The sight though was worse.

There before him was a doorway to another realm of Sakura's brain and it was filled with nothing but lava for as long as the eye could see.

Layer upon layer upon layer, Sakura had made sure her mind was protected from intruders. There was no way they'd ever see into her mind with a defense mechanism like this.

A scream pierced their ears then and before they knew it a figure all in white was rushing towards them, her skin, her eyes, her hair everything was painted white.

Everything except for the chains wrapped around her wrist, ankles and neck. _'My chakra! Give me back my chakra!' _

... _Holy fuck. _

As suddenly as the demon appeared, they were thrown back through the doors that had gotten them there and they landed right back to where they started.

The statues all moved, their swords pulled out in front of the and the two facing each other covered the doors with their swords and a figure in all black suddenly appeared before them.

Only it was not ... It was like a drawing of a being almost, with an outline of white. It's face was hidden, as they pulled out two swords from behind them.

He forced them out before anything else could happen.

He forced himself back into the reality of the world and stared straight into wide green eyes. _'She knew'_ He could see it in her eyes, those big green eyes told him everything he didn't want to see.

She was angry. He didn't stop the punch that came to him, or the kick that had him hitting the other side of the shack. "Bastard". Her voice shook with with a vulnerable rage that he didn't think he'd get from her so soon.

She attempted to lift herself from the bed but barely managed to do that. "I swear first chance I get I'm going to rip out every organ in your body and feed them to you!"

He sighed then. "I deserved that". She opened her mouth to spew out more at him and she then turned her head towards Hashirama who was cowering in a corner. "Get over here you idiot!"


	7. Chapter VII : Free Fall

Authors Note

This story has been adopted from the wonderful Forever Gypsy.

All characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi.

Sorry for the long wait ... I broke my laptop and had to save up for another one. ...

* * *

**Chapter**

**VII**

_**... Free Fall ...**_

* * *

_'What the fuck was that!" _Madara watched as Hashirama pointed at Sakura from a corner he'd been cowering in as he started screaming at her. Sakura growled, she actually growled as she attempted once more to get off the bed. "Get over here you big oaf! I'm going to cut off your fucking dick and feed it to you!"

... _She really had quite the imagination. ... _Hashirama only shook his head. "No you stay far- far away from me!" Sakura looked aghast as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Me! I'm not the one that's forcing themselves into other people's minds! Now get over here so I can kill you!"

Sakura's eyes were on fire as she shook her first at the Senju, she started grabbing whatever was closest to her and began to throw them at Hashirama. Her target jumping around in his little corner as he avoided each hit. Finally Sakura had gotten herself off the bed as she stood on weak legs. Glaring death and dismemberment at him and Hashirama.

He couldn't believe that someone so small was keeping a secret like that in themselves. ... Whatever that was, he wasn't exactly sure what he'd just seen. Had that been a literal inner demon? A manifestation of her hate?

If he'd been bugged by the questions before he was more so with these new questions that started to swirl around his mind.

The situation escalated the moment Sakura found the energy to jump onto Hashirama and start scratching at his face. Hashirama attempted to pull of the smaller being as he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Not the face, my perfect face! Madara!"

He debated, watching Sakura attempt to tear off Hashirama's face was rather amusing actually. "Fuck your ugly mug! How does it feel? Does it feel good you ugly pig!" "Madara help me!"

Then Sakura pulled out a kunai. His eyes wide, he forgot to search the shack before they'd set Sakura down. Rushing he grabbed at Sakura's waist and ripped her off and threw the kunai away from the three of them. "No! Let me carve his face off!"

"Madara control her!" Sakura thrashed in his arms as she attempted to get out of his hold. "Control me! I'm not some subservient minion you dumbshit!" He covered her mouth and she bit his fingers.

He shuddered and he controlled the urges that began to rush through him. He leaned next to her ear and whispered, watching as she stiffened as his hold on her tightened. "Just know the next time you bite me like that, I will bite back". She trembled and it reverberated back to him in the most pleasant way.

He took in a deep breath as he calmed himself down and waited for Sakura to calm down as well. He sympathized with her anger, they'd entered her mind, raped her most sacred of places and she was angry, he understood all to well.

He looked over at Hashirama who stayed in the corner, watching Sakura with large watery eyes, the scratches on his face looking rather nasty. "Now that we're all calm down I'm going to let go of you and you will not attempt to attack either myself or Hashirama am I clear?" She scoffed. "Don't treat me like I'm a child Uchiha".

Shrugging, he turned around and threw her onto the bed as ungracefully as possible. "Fine then, and here I thought I was being nice". She glared as she sat up in her bed. "Nice! Nice! You used your Sharingan on me! You went into my head!"

He nodded his head as he crouched in front of her bed. He was beginning to notice that she responded better when they were eye level, not that he was as tall as Hashirama, but with her on the bed it seemed easier to calm her down this way.

Looking back at Hashirama he forced him away. "Go back to the teahouse and clean those scratched". Hashirama walked out touching his face as he did so. "She ruined my beautiful face!"

Sakura glared at the Senju's back until she couldn't see him anymore and he sighed as he rubbed his chin. The shack was quiet between them and he wondered what he was going to do.

Hashirama and Sakura were like cats and dogs, except Sakura was more of a leopard to Hashirama's lap dog. "You couldn't have just punched him?" She looked down and inspected her nails then. "That was the plan but the more he avoided the angrier I got and the more I wanted to rip his face off".

Not being able to hold it in he chuckled. Gods did he understand what she was talking about, Hashirama just had that face you loved at first before he opened his mouth and made you want to push that damned face into a wall. "See I can't have that, if we're going to make it to the border, the three of us can't go and kill each other". She shrugged her shoulders.

"But of course it's okay to rape the others mind". He had that coming. "I deserved that". She didn't even look at him. "No you deserve a kunai being twisted into your larynx ... slowly".

_Gods that imagination of hers. _"I needed to see, you don't exactly give us any answers to questions we have". She still didn't look at him as she took to inspecting her nails once more. "I don't have to either".

If he'd thought she was complicated before, this cold personality of hers was even worse, she was cutting them off completely now. He didn't blame her, Hashirama's idea backfired completely. He should have known it would, just by looking at her Genjutsu work he could tell that her mind didn't work like others.

_Those Genjutsu traps were so terrifyingly beautiful. ..._ He looked back to her then. "I'm sorry". Her neck seemed to snap quickly then and he knew that he had her complete attention then and she seemed very surprised at his words. "You didn't serve that, and I can tell you it won't happen again".

He was thrown to the ground then with Sakura's eyes looking straight into his, her eyes moving quickly as she took his in. He held his breath, she looked like a true predator in that single moment, her eyes were like cold steel as she looked his face and eyes over, his arms pinned above his head with her legs on both sides of his waist and cloak hitched up at her thighs. Her nails were long, long like talons and this close up he could see the different colors that made up her otherworldly green eyes. Her pale skin was really perfect with no imperfections not even a single pore or freckle could be seen.

The Sharingan wielder was the mesmerized one in this single moment of time.

Then she poked him between the eyes. "Strange" She poked him again, this time on the cheek. "You seem so genuine when you speak" Her talons were right above his eye and he broke free from her grasp as he grabbed her hand from continuing it poking. She demanded then. "Say it again".

He wasn't sure what she was talking about and as her gem colored eyes went from cold and unyielding to nearly pleading with him when he realized what she words she was looking for. He let go of her hand then and leaned up, using the back of his hands as leverage and she crouched above his pelvis now, waiting for him to say those words that seemed so very important to her. He wanted to reach out with his hands and touch her, console her like humans did, but she was so very far and so very close that it was disorientating to him. Her voice shook and he swore he could see right into her soul in that very moment. "Say it again Uchiha Madara".

"I'm sorry".

* * *

It hadn't taken long, and like clockwork the Senju clan had appeared at their doorstep, the tall albino heir with his shoulders squared as he lead the Senju Elders through the Uchiha gates, glaring as he passed the Uchiha's that had stopped to stare at the strange sight.

They were strange to look at, all different colored skin tones, hair colors, eye colors ... Specifically Senju Tobirama was the oddest of all Senju with his pasty skin and demon red eyes and giants height.

The meeting between the clans was brutal and realizing that Madara and Hashirama had set it up when they were not there had been clearly planned between the two Chiefs. Each side was stiff and insulting towards the other and it grated on his nerve as at every move the Uchiha made the Senju attacked expecting them to bow down to their demands. At the end of the meeting the only thing that they were able to come to an agreement was that they'd all relinquish their flags and use a single flag that would represent their united village.

Tobirama looked all to please with that smirk on his disgusting face as he lead his kinsmen back towards the Senju lands. No matter how much clearer his mind was, he still wanted to smack the Senju heir across the face and not in the playful way that Madara did with Hashirama either.

The sun had set by the time new people had decided to make camp in front of their compound and he rubbed his head when he saw the clan insignia on the flag. _'Fuck' _

If there was one clan that nobody wanted near them it was definitely the Hyuga clan and their wicked eyes and fingers. Spooky looking as they were, having those brown and black heads with those creepy pearl eyes put the Uchiha's on edge.

"Izuna-san" He didn't turn his attention away from the clan that sat right outside their gates, he already knew it was his uncle that was attempting to speak with him. "What is it?" He could feel the older mans arrogrant aura even from this distance, it seemed suffocating the closer he got to him, the old man should feel lucky that they weren't anything like the previous Uchiha Chiefs who would have undoubtedly snapped him in two for not using the proper title when being addressed.

This was Uchiha Hachiro though, a man that needed to be carefully regarded, despite his sickly frame, the man had lived to see three chiefs fall and numerous elders and soldiers die and be replaced. Despite being the first born son Hachiro been skipped over for Chief and this elder had become particularly good at Genjutsu techniques, so good in fact that nearly all of the Uchiha Elders followed him like a flock of sheep now. Personally he and Madara had come to the belief that with how easily they were swayed over by Hachiro they had to have been under Genjutsu most of the time they held meetings. Alas it was too much to think about or look into thoroughly as they had always been so busy dealing with the Senju and other important things that the clan needed to focus on.

Uchiha Hachiro was dangerous to Madara though, he'd been dangerous to their father too, but as Hachiro had been his fathers half-brother and their precious fallen father hadn't seen the snake for what it truly was, he'd allowed the Elder to gain the power over the other Elders as he'd turned an oblivious eye. Madara was chief now though and Madara wasn't a fool. This Elder had been attempting to replace Madara as the Chief since he'd been once again passed over and he hadn't been quiet about it either.

Nobody wanted Hachiro as chief though, they'd loose to much, he was a power hungry, greedy old man stuck in the past. The laws and regulations of the old Uchiha clan needed to stay in the past, they wouldn't survive if Hachiro got his way, and they were so very close to being done with having to deal with the loses the clan took so much of.

Whatever this Elder wanted could not be good. "Do not make me repeat myself". He could almost feel the smirk that the Elder had on his face. "I understand that Madara has declined once more to make arrangements for a future wife".

He almost groaned out loud _'Not this again'. _"If you haven't noticed Madara-_sama _has been rather busy as of late, particularly with the safekeeping of the clans future, worrying about a true-born heir has been pushed to the side for the time being".

"And we're all so very proud of him for all the hard work he's been putting into the clan, but the other Elders and I have had some discussions and we've become rather worried. If this peace treaty happens to fail, we can't have Madara-_sama _perishing before he's given any true-born heirs".

Gods what he would give to switch places with a guard right now, but Hachiro wasn't finished yet. _'Of course there's more'_. "So we've all come to a rather difficult decision today". He highly doubted it had been difficult for Hachiro. "With Madara's future in an unknown place, we the counsel have thought it best to begin preparing you as the next Chief, and upon Madara's return we will make sure that the switch over will begin, and once you've taken your seat as the Chief you will take a wife, I've already found a wife from a very promising clan, you'll need an heir as soon as possible so that no one can challenge you for the position, especially Madara".

Did they really think we would overthrow his own brother? They must have thought him stupid, or maybe Hachiro was that convincing to the rest of the Elders. "No".

"This is not a debate, the rest of the elders have already agreed that Madara needs to be replaced with a proper Chief". Finally he turned his attention to the elder and smirked at him. "I said no". Activating his Sharingan he held in the gasp as it stung him, but the effect of showing it to Hachiro did what it needed to do.

Despite his talent at being great in Genjutsu, Hachiro had been passed over for his bastard half-brother for a reason. The elder had never been able to awaken his Sharingan. "Listen to me very closely, if I even hear another peep about this, as the _heir-apparent_ I will use my power and have the guards force all of you on house arrest until Madara returns and we both know that Madara will not stand for this talk of treachery, so do yourself a favor and stepdown".

Hachiro gulped and Izuna smirked as he formed a ball of fire in his hand, playing with it and knowing that Hachiro was not prepared to physically fight against him.

Because everyone knew, _everyone knew_ that Hachiro couldn't fight against a Sharingan wielder, especially one who had mastered Seishitsu Henka_. _He rolled the ball around his hand then and watched as Hachiro began to walk away slowly.

"Oh and Hachiro-san, I need you to go to the Capital for a bit, with the peace treaty coming together, I thought it best if Madara-sama and the rest of the Elders had the best clothing to wear when we officially signed the peace treaty, I mean we must look our best right? So if you could be a wonderful Elder and pick up some fabrics I'd be most delighted".

Hachiro needed to get far, far away from Madara, because the moment he heard about this he and the rest of the elders were dead, especially if he was unable to talk Madara down. "Of course Izuna-sama". He bowed before he turned away.

Smirking he placed the flame between his hands and watched as it died. _'Well that was relatively_ easy'. Deactivating his Sharingan he pinched the bridge of his nose.

His head hurt as if he'd drunk sake all night and his eyes stung. Shaking his head he held in the groan. Sakura had told him, she had specifically told him not to use his Sharingan for an entire week and not even seventy-two hours later he'd gone and did the opposite.

_'It was so worth it to see Hachiro's reaction though'._

Looking down at the Hyuga he motioned for a guard, they appeared before him quickly as they bowed. "Send word to my brother about the Hyuga", "Hai Izuna-sama!"

Now all he had to do was make sure that the Hyuga didn't try to push past the gate, but considering they weren't making any moves as of yet, he figured that they had somehow heard or saw the Uchiha and Senju speaking with one another instead of fighting. That in itself would worry any other clan, because if the Senju and Uchiha weren't fighting anymore then that meant they were allies.

Being allied with a clan like the Senju's wasn't preferable to him, but considering the pro's outweighed the cons they'd take it, they had to in order for the Uchiha clan to survive.

Next on his list was trying to figure out how to break their precious Sakura from her shell while trying to figure out how he was going to convince Madara to marry her then convince the Elders to allow a marriage between her and Madara.

_... Fighting the Hyuga and Senju seemed easier than that ..._

* * *

With her sitting nearly on top of him that was how Hashirama stormed back into the shack.

Time seemed to freeze then as Hashirama took in the scene, neither him or Sakura had separated from each other, and he wasn't going to lie about it, she looked rather good on top of him. He'd never had a woman on top before and seeing one on top of him like this made him wish he'd thought of it in his earlier years.

Finally Hashirama broke the silence. "Please tell me I just walked in when she was attempting to kill you because if it isn't I do hope this makes her nicer".

Sakura was quick to understand what Hashirama was suggesting and she was even quicker as she reached into his weapons pouch and pull out a kunai and threw it directly at Hashirama. Of course though he avoided it. "Pervert!"

Hashirama ran out of the shack again. Sakura glared daggers at where he had been standing, before standing up on shaky legs. Where she'd found the energy for all of that he didn't know because right then he'd had to catch her from collapsing onto the floor.

"You really need to rest". She nodded her head in agreement and he helped her back onto the cot.

She wrapped herself tighter into her cloak reaching over to pull her hood back over her bandana covered head. "Sakura-san?" She looked up at him with those large eyes of hers and he calculated how he was going to breach the subject. "What was that ... what we saw?"

Those green eyes flashed coldly at him for the briefest moment and he froze for that single second, she pulled her hood over herself. "Hate Uchiha-san".

For a single moment he wanted to use his Sharingan to force her into telling him instead of spewing more lies and riddles, he reeled himself in though. The Uchiha clan needed her, needed her knowledge, he couldn't hurt her, she was too important to hurt. Turning away from her he left the shack and her inside of it and searched for Hashirama's chakra signature. Feeling it he jumped down.

The ground cracked a bit as he landed and he looked up at Hashirama who was leaning against the large tree.

With arms crossed and eyes shut in deep thought he knew that Hashirama was thinking about something really hard. "She's a wild one". he shrugged his shoulders at the other mans comment knowing he couldn't see it.

He rather liked that she didn't follow anyone else's rules but her own. "But isn't that the most charming part about her?" Hashirama opened his eyes then. "Look at my face Madara! She tried to rip my actual face off!"

Oh he seemed to be really thinking about something serious right now. "Perhaps you should have just taken the hit, I talked to her about it and she agreed that the more you avoided the more angry she felt and I completely understand where she's coming from. Every time your mouth opens I feel like I need to rip your tongue out".

"That's not funny Madara". What a shame, he had thought it was. "What happened in there? I can't remember a time anyone has ever gotten so close to you before". Another shrug.

"She caught me off guard". A neat brow lifted on Hashirama's head. "How'd you get her to calm down?" "I'm not the one that sealed her chakra away and I'm not the one keeping her chakra sealed either, I'd prefer myself as well if that were the case".

"You saw her Madara, she's unpredictable and then there's that _thing_ in her head, she has an actual _monster_ in her head, I can't undo the seals now, especially after that".

"So you're going back on your agreement with her? That's a bad idea Hashirama, you remember the story of the Three Queens right?" There was a definite lesson learned from stories. Obviously Hashirama had figured that out yet.

Hashirama closed his eyes and then rubbed his neck in frustration. "Don't you think I know that it's a bad decision! I've been mewling it over since she tried to _scratch my skin off!_" The Senju then pushed off the tree and turned away from him out of frustration and groaned.

"There's something about her it just pulls me towards her Madara, but then she did that, she has _that thing_, Madara I understand that you're attracted to her, she _is _a pretty little thing but she's _dangerous_"

Crossing his arms he looked up at the tree, being able to see the shack a little more easier now. "Whom ever said I was attracted to her". "I'm not an idiot Madara" Looking over at Hashirama he noticed that the Senju crossed his arms against his chest as well and was now facing him.

"I get it Madara, really I do, my entire life I've been told that the Uchiha's are demons with demonic eyes and now here's this girl that doesn't runaway from Uchiha Madara's Sharingan and any other time I'd give you all the privacy in the world with her and let you have your way but _Sakura_ ... A part of me, the part that sounds a lot like Tobi-chan, that little voice has been telling me there's something _wrong_ here with _her_".

Was he so easy to read? "Your paranoia is based off of Tobirama's belief". Hashirama shook his head. "His paranoia is based off some truth though, don't you feel it even just a little bit, Somethings just not right about her?"

"No". Hashirama rubbed his forehead then. "It doesn't matter, I'm still not going to change my mind, she cannot be unsealed". "She's already cracked the seal" So far all he saw was Hashirama's face with Tobirama's mouth and words.

Hashirama though surprised him. "Then you'll use your Sharingan to make it so that she can't remember how to continue breaking it".

Looking down at the ground he frowned, that couldn't happen the Uchiha needed her, he needed her. He just couldn't tell Hashirama, the moment that Hashirama found out about his eyesight was the same moment Tobirama, the Senju and the rest of the Uchiha found out and that could not happen. "Hashirama, she saved Izuna's life, I owe her a life debt, I can't harm her".

Hashirama pulled at the roots of his head as he groaned. "You won't be hurting her though! If anything you'd be saving her life, think about it Madara! If you make her forget about the seals you can make her forget about her chakra and you can take away the memories of her past and replace them with something good" And they would be risking destroying her mind to.

That's even if he could use his Sharingan on her.

A person's Genjutsu work told a lot about how strong their mind was and taking apart that Genjutsu trap had told him more than he needed to know about Sakura's mind before they even got a look into her mind.

Then he'd have to find a way to get past her defense mechanisms just to do it and he wasn't sure if that would work. A defense mechanism like that was created to protect and keep others out.

"You saw what I saw, she's protected her mind and I took apart that Genjutsu trap she'd done and that was better than anything I've ever seen Hashirama, even if you somehow convinced me to do it, I can't guarantee that she won't break the Genjutsu or that the Sharingan won't damage her irrevocably".

"That's a chance we need to take though, think about it, if we do this ... You could at least sleep with her then especially without the fear of her slitting your throat". There was an interesting thought. "I don't have that fear Hashirama". It was obvious that Hashirama had a fear of someone attempting to kill him while having sex.

... _What an interesting thing to learn ... _"Hashirama". "Madara" He pinched the bridge of his nose, he was getting to old to keep fighting with Hashirama. "We need her knowledge".

Hashirama went back to leaning against the tree and crossed his arms. "She already taught us how to heal burn wounds and clean out infections, that right there will give us an up on others".

Was Hashirama really going to turn down medical knowledge, dare he say that even Tobirama wouldn't do such a thing. "Hashirama she saved Izuna's life". "Yes I get that Madara! You feel grateful towards her I get it I really do!"

Gods this man was an idiot! "Hashirama that wound was fatal and she healed his eyes". Hashirama dropped his arms then and looked over at him.

"What are you talking about?" He hadn't wanted to let anybody outside the Uchiha know, but this was a last ditch effort before Hashirama found a different clan to take care of Sakura. "Izuna was basically dead by the time we got back to the Uchiha healers, there was nothing anyone could do, then somehow Sakura and whomever she'd been with had gotten passed the guards and took Izuna and a week later he suddenly appeared in front of the gates no injuries, not even a scare and he had his eyesight fixed and she even fixed his mind ... Imagine the village we created if all the healers had been trained by her".

"We'd be unstoppable". He nodded his head in agreement. "We can't just erase her, I don't believe she's dangerous ... I just think she's ... scared".

That was it, she was scared of something, maybe seeing what happened to her family and home had scared her and turned her into what she was now.

"That girl scared, I can't see anything scaring her". No nothing seemed to scare her and that's what was worrisome. If he was correct in his theory about her being scared then that would mean that whatever happened must of been something so horrible that it twisted her into this wild being.

"Give her a chance, you saw how pleasant she was earlier, we just need to get more of that out of her". Hashirama continued to shake his head then. "I didn't like that version of her either, she still picked on me".

Another nose bridge pinch and he reeled himself in enough not to slap the fool, Hashirama continued then. "But I suppose we should give her another chance, we are taking a chance on each other and considering our history with each other it says a lot" Ah finally some sense of reasoning from Hashirama.

"But Madara, the next time she steps out of line like that we will have to handle it".

* * *

Growing up within the main clan as the second heir he'd always wondered about why his father and Madara had always seemed to disappear so suddenly, even after his father had passed and Madara ascended as Chief with himself becoming the heir-apparent, Madara had continued to disappear without a moment's notice. At the time his mind had been too focused, too _clouded_ with the war against the Senju's to truly concern himself with his duties. Now he completely understood everything, and cursed Sakura for clearing his mind out at this moment, despite her good intentions. Not even a single hour had passed before a guard had appeared to let him know that his aunt was now expecting to see him.

Old bastards needed to leave him alone, first the Elders had come to him complaining about Madara leaving them without discussing the situation, then Hachiro came about with his stupidity and now his aunt.

Rubbing at his forehead he breathed in carefully, counting the seconds before breathing out. Madara was supposed to have a true-born heir and wife that were required to handle all this by now. Of course Madara didn't believe in doing anything unless he thought it necessary and having a true-born heir and wife was not considered necessary to him.

He was beginning to understand it though, why the Chiefs had so many children all the time. They were breeding in order to have their heirs to deal with all the clan business while they sat around and thought of ways to kill the Senju's.

This being pulled in every fucking directions was getting on his last nerves.

Oh he was angry too! Finally understanding the unanswered questions about Madara's rather weird character traits, he understood, with how this clan was beginning to pick and pull at him now that they thought they could rely on him. No wonder Madara was the way he was, the idiots had created that demon spawn! Then went around and complained about their Chief amongst each other.

This could not continue anymore, when Madara returned and the treaty finalized the Uchiha Elders would see a serious reform. They couldn't continue to live in this democracy, it hadn't worked when they'd first started it and it still didn't. Democracy was a joke, everything was always a majority vote and eleven against two was not a fair voting strategy when Hachiro controlled every say of the Elders. Although Hachiro was useful for some things, even he understood what was at steak if someone didn't control those old fools. If it was up the Elders though, the _'Pillars' _of the community, they'd have less women and less money and they'd continue the fight with the Senju's until either the Senju's or Uchiha's or possibly even both had been wiped out completely and war was exhausting, and he and Madara were getting too old to continue playing a pawn for their ancestors fued.

Now though they were looking at him to be the puppet, to overthrow his own brother, his blood! What a sham! Madara tolerated the Elders only because he found it amusing when they thought he actually cared about them, but now it was just plain annoying. Plotting a coup against their own Chief, pitting brothers against each other, the thought made him sick to his stomach.

As he made his way towards the branch homes he attempted to calm himself down.

They thought that they could control him! The old fools hadn't learned anything! They barely had a grasp on his father and grandfather and they couldn't even control Madara so they thought he'd turn out to be the sheep and allow them to puppet him around. It was so outrageous that he knew only Hachiro could have been behind it all, because out of all the Elders only his uncle was as conniving and was this dramatic, and this shit stuck of his uncle.

Was it because of how he'd been acting with this the darkness controlling him that made them think he'd be willing to hurt Madara? Was that what gave Hachiro and the Elders the idea? Would he have been willing to hurt Madara if Tobirama and Sakura hadn't intervened?

... He didn't like the thought that there may have been a yes to that answer.

Also the thought that the demon Senju actually doing him a favor didn't sit right with him either.

As he came to the appointed home he tried to calm his mind and clear it of everything. It was a risky move going anywhere near this _particular_ Uchiha woman and he couldn't let anyone know about Sakura outside the four brothers and the healers.

Uchiha Kita had become renowned within the clan for her unusual ability to just know things she shouldn't, from thoughts to feelings she just had to look at you to know what was in your soul and your mind. Considering her history and upbringing he couldn't ever figure out how or even where she had developed this ability but it had saved him and Madara from being placed into horribly arranged marriages, and she'd also saved them from Hachiro's scheming ways so they considered themselves rather lucky to have their aunt.

Outside her special ability their aunt was a force to be reckoned with, she had married a nobleman from the Capital and had created a network within the Capitals aristocratic circles in order to use for the Uchiha's sake. While she hadn't had any children with her noblemen husband she still had earned his lands and titles before returning back to the Uchiha clan after her husbands death. Selling some of it had allowed the Uchiha clan to live a little more comfortably than some other clans, excluding the Senju's. Although considering the rumor about the Senju's money situation he didn't consider any of that.

And the women of the clan flocked to her, despite the fact that she wasn't even an Elder, because even the Uchiha's couldn't believe in having a female Elder. With the knowledge of the royal court and the fact that she'd been educated to the highest degree because of her background she was the only woman they'd ever met that could kill a person with words just as much as with a blade. ... That was until they'd met Sakura.

No matter what though, Uchiha Kita was considered the Matriarch of the clan by everyone around them, she completed most of the tasks the Matriarch was charged with, completing them with pride and poise and nobody would dare speak against her. Kita was not someone even the Elders or even his uncle Hachiro himself would triffle with.

The guards slid the shoji screen open then and he saw that Kita was sitting on the floor, tea pot in hand and pouring the hot tea into the cup already.

If there was anything anyone could say about Kita though, it was that she truly was the definition of Uchiha beauty, even at her accelerated age, she was beautiful, her thick long chestnut colored hair was streaked proudly with grays. The soft wrinkles around her eyes and lips were held with gratitude and the smoothness of her softly sun soaked skin retained the youthfulness that had long since passed but glowed with a magical knowledge that no one could challenge her about.

Her pink full lips smiled softly at him and she held out the tea for him. "Izuna-kun, so glad you could make it". He sat down across from her and took the tea from her delicate hands.

Leaning over he kissed her on the cheek. "I always make time for you". She nodded her head as she poured her own cup. "So what did you want to see me about?"

She laughed a musical note. "Oh my precious Izuna-kun you always have been the serious one!" He could have fun, why didn't anyone believe he could have fun? Her onyx colored eyes regarded him carefully before she continued. "I understand that my precious brother returned recently from a sabbatical" He nodded his head. "Yes now that I think about it Hachiro did just come back recently, but I sent him to the Capital for new fabrics, what with it going to be a special occasion I thought we should dress for it".

A nod of her head then. "I see ... So you know that he hadn't returned alone right?" He placed his cup down as he looked over at his aunt.

"I did not know that, I'm sure Madara would have told me this information if he'd been informed as well". Madara would have definitely told him that his uncle came back with an outsider.

_I've already found a wife ... _Of course. "I believe now that I know about it. Hachiro and I had just had a conversation earlier before, he had claimed that he'd found a wife for me". Kita leaned back with a twinkle in her eye. "Oh Izuna-kun why didn't you come to me when you had made the decision to marry?" She sighed then. "I would have found you a much better bride than whatever Hachiro-kun brought back".

Shaking his head he explained. "It's nothing like that, Hachiro was attempting to overthrow Madara by voting him out and voting me in, he'd made all the arrangements to ensure my claim by convincing the Elders that I should be the new Chief and getting me a wife so that I could have a true-born heir before Madara could challenge me. Alas I explained to Hachiro that I did not wish to be Chief. I see now that I may have to get more forceful with the rest of the Elders to have them understand that I am not on board with their plans".

"So you believe that he has already paid the brides token?" If he hadn't come alone then he couldn't figure out who else Hachiro would have come back with. "I believe so, he had talked about having everything done as soon as possible"

"Oh pity, we can't give her back now without insulting her clan". No they really couldn't but he refused to marry someone he had never even met. "I'll find out more about her clan and see if I can't perhaps marry her to someone else within the clan, surely they'd be understanding once they found out that Hachiro had made the arrangement without Madara's permission".

"That sounds like a good idea" Let her handle that, she did know how to talk to people better than anyone else anyhow. He took a sip of his tea then, glad that everything was figured out and he could now go home to a nice meal and have his bed back to himself again.

"So tell me about Sakura". He choked on the hot tea as it ripped through his throat, there was no possible way she could have gotten that from him. "Excuse me?"

Kita tilted her head. "The girl Sakura that the four of you brought back, the one that had stayed in Madara's private chambers". _How did she do that!_

"I'm sorry I don't think I understand what your talking about". She reached into the arms of her kimono and pulled out a scroll handing it over to him. "One of the healers has been very _loud_ since the four of you came back so I went and looked into it while I could, of course I hadn't expected anything to come back so soon".

He unrolled the scroll and saw a painting ... of Sakura. Sitting on a window seal draped in a what looked to be a long white kimono her hair was thick and long and pink and her eyes large and green. She looked healthy, with more fat on her face and seen on her neck as well.

"I received that from Ninso in Yuki no Kuni". That was an interesting place to be found. "Accordingly Sakura appeared nine months after they had seen what they described as a white sun fall from the sky and she was requesting their help". Sakura was asking for help.

A white sun falling from the sky? Could they mean that night? The night of that crazy meteor shower? The same night Madara had woken from that dream? "What help of theirs did she need?" Kita only shrugged. "They don't go into detail, she was there for a few months and then she left, only a specific monk was helping her with whatever it was that she needed assistance with. He ended up dying the day before she left, they don't think she killed him, claimed he was elderly and died in his sleep. But they said that Sakura came to them from the east".

The east? The east of Yuki was Kaminari ... Another scroll was given to him then, he looked over to Kita. "It doesn't say that she's from there just that she came from the east. I wanted to wait for yours and Madara's permission before I began looking further east for information on her".

"I want you to begin this as soon as possible". The sooner they found out about Sakura the better. "As you command". Lifting the teacup once more he stopped, there was no way he was going to allow her to catch him off guard like that once more. Placing it down he looked at her smirking face.

Gods Madara had learned a lot from her. "She's rather pretty, definitely more than a Senju, beyond that hair of hers of course, she has a good attractive face, she'd make pretty Uchiha babes that's for certain".

He thought so to. "Yes I believe so too, but considering her knowledge and temperament I think she'd be better suited for Madara than anyone else within the clan". Kita looked surprised and he was glad to actually have been able to surprise her as he did.

"You want this outsider as the Uchiha Matriarch? Izuna-kun that's a lot to say, you don't seem to understand the implications of your words". He decided not to roll his eyes. "There have been other Chiefs that have married outside the clan, you, Madara and myself share the blood of an Ōtsutsuki Clan member". Kita regarded him carefully.

"That was a different situation Izuna-kun and nearly a millennium ago too, and from the little that anyone knows is that the Chief at the time had no choice in the matter, an outsider is fine, but this Sakura has no known background so far, and from what I heard from the healers they couldn't find any clan markings upon her and from you yourself she's claimed no one has family, she's an orphan and we cannot take in an orphan, we don't know what sort of diseases she could bring to the clans blood".

This time he was the one that shrugged, refusing to acknowledge that she'd started her snooping in his mind once more. "Doesn't matter, it's happened before, besides new blood in the clan is always good". "Only if that new blood can bring in more wealth and power, if she cannot the Elders will immediately turn away the pair, you wouldn't put your brother in such a situation would you?"

"If we go by what the Elders want Madara will never give them a true-born heir". Kita sighed. "And you don't want to be Chief, you really are rather content on becoming head of the branch family".

"I won't have to deal with the Elders anymore, I'll still keep most of my privileges and get a nice home that's not shared with Madara, and on that note if I can't get Sakura to become the Matriarch then the Uchiha clan is in trouble because Madara keeps turning away potential matches and he'll only be giving the clan bastards and Leiko will kill any other woman that claims she's carrying Madara's child and I don't want to be in the main house if that happens and if Madara doesn't have bastards from anyone else that means him and Leiko will and that just cannot happen ... ever".

Kita huffed. "That Leiko, she's is a problem, if it weren't for Hachiro, Madara wouldn't have ever touched the girl, and if it weren't for my intervening we'd already have a bastard from Madara and her".

Gods neither him nor Madara wanted to have to deal with any demon that Leiko spewed out, that would just be bad. Kita looked thoughtful, "We could tell her Madara is impotent, she would definitely let go of him then" That was too risky. "If the others in the clan even heard that rumor a lot bad things could happen".

A sigh and she looked down at her tea. "We'll, maybe some serious competition will get her out". Sakura was more than competition, she was no whore from what he could tell and she was educated and could fight with and without chakra and she could bring someone back from the dead.

If Madara didn't chose Sakura he was in trouble, Madara was never going to take an Uchiha as a wife, he didn't want an Uchiha as a wife but he also turned down all of the matches they'd shown him from promising clans. He knew Madara didn't want to be Chief he took it because Hachiro couldn't be allowed to take the clan and Madara also knew that he himself didn't want the title, now Madara looked like he was about to kill off the main family.

"Let me handle the girls Izuna-kun all three of them, and you focus on your brother ... but I advise that you start considering yourself Madara's sole heir until I can figure some things out, because whether you want to put this Sakura girl in the Matriarchs seat we have no guarantee that it will happen".

With Madara his chances at being in a content position as the Head of the Branch family was beginning to seriously dwindle.

* * *

She refused to look back at either of them as she continued to maneuver them through the forest.

Hashirama was being so annoying and awkward that the thought of killing him was very, very _tempting. _She didn't understand it, how in the world was this man considered the _God of Shinobi_? Whomever gave Hashirama the moniker must have never talked with him before.

"Sakura-chan!" She popped her neck, hoping to whatever god would listen that they glue his mouth shut. "Sakura-chan!"

_'Cut his vocal cords' _Popping the other side of her neck she counted her heartbeats. _'Quiet you' _"Sakura-chan! Are we there yet!" _'Do it, do it, do it please!'_

Stopping she looked around the forest. _'We don't have access to enough chakra for that' _A high whine in her head and she wasn't sure who that had come from. Having the added voice of Kaguya's chakra on top of her inner voice had seriously challenged her mental capabilities.

A weight on her shoulder and she looked up into the happy face of Hashirama as he leaned his arm on her shoulder. Grabbing his wrist she twisted it. "Ow ow ow!" He was dramatic as he twisted to his knees. _"kill him! Take our chakra back' 'If we kill him we loose our chakra forever' 'Shut up!'_

"Do not touch me!" Madara decided to chime in. "You should kick him while he's down or else he'll never learn his lesson". She let go of the Senju and walked away from the two. _'That's too tempting'.'He's too tempting?' 'kill that one and take his chakra for yourself'. '... That is too tempting'._

Hashirama whined. "Madara!" She turned to look back at the two, Hashirama's wrist red and beating animatedly as he held it up as if it was a broken paw instead of a twisted wrist. "Stop you're crying, we're here". Hashirama looked around then. "Where's the river? I thought we were going to the river".

She moved the brush away, Madara and Hashirama hot on her heels. She stopped and watched as Hashirama moved ahead of her and she smirked, only for it be followed promptly by a frown. Madara had pulled him away just in time and her smirk returning he screeched at the sight.

"Madara this is not a river!" Tiptoeing closer to the edge of the cliff she smirked back at the Senju. "Did I not mention that the rivers only entrance from the Uchiha and Senju lands is by the cliff?"

Hashirama pointed towards her. "Your insane!" Madara rolled his eyes. "Stop being annoying, you used to climb the mountains all the time". He turned towards her then. "Exactly how will you be getting down there". She stretched her legs and arms, before turning towards the two with a smile on her face.

Without the chakra that would be necessary to break her fall she'd have to use the little bit she had access to in order to protect her body when she hit the water. "Just like this". She waved as she pushed off the cliff and fell towards the water. Happy to see that Hashirama's face looked horrified as he tried to grab at her.

The air around her whipped around her as she fell and she held her breath and called her chakra to the top layer of her skin just as she fell into the water.

The cold water stung her skin and she looked around to see that she barely just missed the rocks that hid within the river. Swimming up to the surface she looked up at the cliff and waved at the two that looked hesitant. She mocked them as she floated in the water. "Well aren't you coming or are you too afraid of the water".

It wasn't the water she knew but the fall that scared many. It had taken her years of Tsunade pushing her off of cliff sides before she became numb to the fear.

Swimming to the shoreline she stopped as she felt someone drop behind her and she watched as Madara walked on top of the water and looked back up at Hashirama whom was still tiptoeing around the cliff.

"Is he really that scared of it?" Madara shook his head. "He's being dramatic, he used to do this all the time when we were children".

Children were fearless though, especially when in the face of their friends. "How long ago was that though?" "When we were 10 years I believe".

If she was correct in how old they were that would be nearly two decades ago. "A lot can change through the years ... maybe he isn't faking". Madara didn't make any indication that he heard her.

She turned away and kept swimming towards the shore. Stopping once more and she felt the ground start to shake all around her and Madara pulled her out of the water just in time to avoid the boulder that fell to the place she had just been floating in.

He let go of her and she fell back into the water in time to see what had happened. Hashirama had used his Mokuton to build a staircase to the bottom of the cliff. "That idiot". She looked up at Madara whom had crossed his arms by now and looked on with a glare.

Was Hashirama afraid of heights? ... Is was possible, Tsunade was a healer and had been terrified of blood because of all the things she had witnessed during the wars growing up. It was why her Shishuo had been so intent on killing off all of her fears during their training sessions.

Once she had deemed it safe she swam to the shoreline, removing her cloak as she did, wringing it out she used it to wring the water out of her hair as well. Madara had finally come to the shore and watched Hashirama. "It would seem that you were right a lot does change throughout the years".

"It can't be helped". Fixing her bandana she noticed that her hair had grown longer with the sleep she had and now was at her shoulders, mentally she groaned.

There'd be no hiding it if it continued its growth rate. damaging it with the henna had slowed it down, but still. She'd need to use the razor to cut it again. Not having the time for that she undid the bandana and fixed it to completely wrap around and hide her hair.

The single benefit of being a Jinchurriki that she had wished she had when she was younger, her hair had never been so long and thick before the sealing. For the single moment she turned and looked over towards the Uchiha who's back was facing her. Gods was his hair just the envy of all, she had only ever dreamed as a child to have hair so long and thick like his and now she did and she was in no position to allow people to see it.

A single weak moment and she kept herself away from the thought as she continued to look over to Madara whom still had his back towards her. "Thanks for saving me earlier" He shrugged his shoulders. "Couldn't be helped".

He craned his head back to look her over carefully. "You should take this time to dry your clothes before he comes down". She looked back towards the cliff where Hashirama was carefully taking each step by step down towards the shoreline, still she didn't understand he hadn't seemed terrified when they were up in her safe-house so why suddenly was he so terrified?

Shaking her head she focused herself it would be a good fifteen minutes before he got down there and she really didn't want to be undressed anywhere around his perverse ass.

"Thanks" She reached into her cloak for her bag and reached in grabbing a small leather bag that she had glued shut by a bookmaker. There was no such thing as ziplock bags in this world so she'd adapted and used double lined leather and glued it shut, she hadn't ever needed it till now. Reaching into her cloaks pocket she gripped the small razor and used it to tear open the bag revealing her second attire she'd gotten for herself.

Looking back towards Madara she noted that he still had his back towards her. ... So gentlemanly. Then again she hadn't gotten the pervert vibe from any Uchiha men she'd ever encountered. It must have been a Senju trait.

Quickly she undressed switching out her underthings, looking back again to see that he still hadn't moved from his standing position. Grabbing the nude colored leather bra she tied that on and slipped on her panties before putting her chainmail suit back on, a fresh dry pair of pants and socks and a matching black sleeved top finished up her ensemble and she felt better in the dry clothes.

Taking a seat on the sand she put on the black leg coverings she'd bought and noticed that Madara had turned around, how could he have possibly known she had fully changed?

He took a seat next to her on the sand then and she continued to fix her leg coverings around her pants. "How's your wrist?" She turned to look over at him, noting that he was watching her hands. "It's fine".

"Sakura-san?" leaned back onto her hands as she stretched her legs. "Yes Uchiha-san?" His brows were scrunched together as he continued to stare at her legs and she too looked at her legs. What could he have been staring at, did she do her leg coverings wrong?

"Where are you from?" She looked up towards him then and noticed that he had looked up at her as well.

At this point did it even really matter? Everything was gone and destroyed she had told the truth about that why care about where she'd come from if it was destroyed. "Why does it concern you so Uchiha-san?" He looked back down then.

"Your the first woman I've ever met that's worn male clothing before". "huh?" She looked down at her clothes then, what was so manly about her clothes? This was standard issue.

It hit her then hard, the more she stared at her pants and black leg coverings she came to the realization of the time era once more, sometimes she forgot what time of place she was in. Especially now being around these two, they were so much like Naruto and Sasuke ... well Hashirama was more like Naruto than anything, Madara was one-thousand times more nicer to her than Sasuke had ever been, and so much more talkative.

He didn't seem to expect an explanation from her, but she still gave him one. "When my village was destroyed my survival was dependent on nobody ever finding out I was a female, it's easier and more comfortable this way".

He looked back towards her and he leaned back on his hands mimicking her pose as he stretched out his legs. "That's interesting". She jumped as Hashirama popped his head in-between them then. "Ne Sakura-chan I bet you'd look really fine in a dress!"

"I swear I will hit you". Hashirama took the spot between her and Madara then and mimicked their sitting position as he chuckled. "You should really loosen up a bit Sakura-chan and take a compliment". She glared at him and Madara decided to speak up then. "How do we cross the river? You don't have enough chakra to run it".

Before she could tell them what they were going to do Hashirama jumped up and started to do signs. Hitting his palm against the sand as he yelled out.

Out from the ground popped up what looked like a large bowl that she expected to be a boat. Madara was the first to say anything. "Cute bowel, but how does this help us?" Hashirama huffed indigently as he crossed his arms pouting. "It's a boat".

"Is it now, it seems you don't understand what a boat is supposed to look like, also that thing won't get us across the river". Hashirama glared at Madara and she scratched at her neck, looking over towards her hanging clothes. She should just bury the pack here, it was wet and would surely slow them down. "It floats you idiot, why don't you explain to us how we should get across?"

"Don't call me an idiot and even if it floats we still need a way to push it across you idiot". "Stop calling me an idiot!" "Will both of you shut up?" They were really horrible together. She sighed as she looked over the bowel like boat.

This was definitely something she could imagine Naruto using as a boat. "Uchiha-san you're a Kenton user, why don't you just make a paddle from a piece of the boat? It's possible right?"

Hashirama had hearts floating out of his eyes again. "Oh Sakura-chan you're so intelligent!" He attempted to hug her and she moved out of the way in time and watched as he fell face first into the sand. "I told you don't touch me!" There were frogs hoping cartoonishly around his head then as Madara stood up and walked over towards the bowel.

"I don't think I can do it with Kenton, it's too unstable to control for such a precise need" She sighed well there went that thought. "I might be able to use Futon". She scrunched her brows, she knew that both he and Hashirama were able to use all of the elements but she hadn't thought they'd been able to use them at such young ages.

"I knew you were a Kenton user I hadn't thought you'd be able to use Futon as well". He looked back at her for a minute before he looked back at the wood again. "Wind is my original Seishitsu Henka".

... And she thought she knew everything about these two men. Guess there was a lot that she had yet to learn. "Interesting". She looked back over to Hashirama who was walking over to her clothes then.

"I would get over there if I were you before he attempts to steal your intimates". She sighed. "Gods he's so disgusting". There was a chuckle. "You haven't seen the best of it either".

... _Eww ... _Running towards the Senju she started grabbing her clothes quickly.

"Don't you dare touch anything!" Hashirama only smiled at her. "Aww chucks Sakura-chan I was only gonna dry them for you!" "Liar" He leaned down then with a smile on his face.

"Ne Sakura-chan, I bet you really would look cute in a dress". "Senju-san I will hit you". He frowned. "Why can't you call me by my name?" "Because we don't know each other that well and I personally really don't want to know you that well".

"But Sakura-chan!" She did the most logically thing that she could think of in that moment and stuffed her cloak into his mouth before he could get another word out of it.

"You can dry my cloak for me". She walked back over to the bowel and saw that Madara really was focusing hard on using Futon to cut through the wood.

"You should have sewed it shut with your cloak still in there". She smiled knowing he couldn't see it. "There's a dream". He stopped and turned towards her then, paddle complete. "And what a fine dream it is don't you think".

"Oh definitely a fine dream".

The sound of a hawk drew their attention to the sky and Madara whistled and they watched as the hawk suddenly began to fly towards them, landing on Madara's shoulder.

She wondered out loud. "What is that doing all the way out here?" "Her" Her brows scrunched and he explained. "It's a her and her name is Mikazuki" He pet the hawk as before he reached up and opened the small barrel around its neck and took the message that was rolled up inside. "There we are now beautiful".

Interesting Sasuke had a hawk as a second summoning and he seemed to care for it more than he did his snake summoning. Were the Uchiha's more bonded with aerial animals? She remembered Tsunade and Kakashi mentioning during the hunt for Itachi that he used crows as a summoning as well as a genjutsu strategy.

"Sakura-chan! You cloak is dry!" He hopped over towards them and stopped as he looked over at Madara. "Madara". She looked over too and noticed that Madara wasn't paying any attention to either of them, his entire attention on the small scroll in his hands.

It was a small scroll and he should be done with it, but the more she looked the more she saw, his knuckles were white and his Sharingan was brighter with the tomoes spinning and his chakra was beginning to flare harshly around him.

Quickly she took the scroll from his hands, tearing it in the process and reading the small words. _'The Hyuga Clan has knocked'. _

That wasn't good. Looking up at Madara she noted that he hadn't moved a single muscle and she sighed as she looked around them ... She could handle this.

"Don't worry Uchiha-san, I can handle the Hyuga Clan, I just need you to get this to them.

Finally all those meetings she'd been forced to attend with Tsunade had come in handy, dealing with all the clans had been a specialty of Tsunades. The Senju woman had a particular scare tactic for the Hyuga clan that she'd used once when she'd come across them when she'd first gotten to Hi no Kuni. Biting into her finger she let it bleed for a moment as she turned the paper over and wrote out the words carefully.

Blowing on the piece of paper she watched as it dried, reaching into her bandana she discreetly ripped out a a few strands of hair and then tore off a small piece of her cloak, using it to wrap around her hair.

Thankfully Hashirama was poking Madara in the face so neither had seen her actions. "There's not much we can do at this point, the sooner we get to the border the sooner we can get back to the Uchiha lands". carefully she moved over to Madara and looked over at the hawk that was watching her with an extreme suspicion showing on her face.

"Okay Mikazuki-san may I have you send this back to Izuna-san?" She waited for the bird to make some sort of gesture.

Her time with the Konoha pigeons had not been good in the beginning and it had taken months for her to learn that she couldn't just touch them unless they allowed you to, doing so without their express permission usually ended up with lots of scratches and bites. She did not need to go through that again.

Finally the bird stretched its neck up for her giving her better access to the barrel and she breathed out carefully as she slid the scroll inside of the barrel and gently closed it. "Thank you Mikazuki-san".

The hawk flew away then and she looked up to see that Madara was still frozen in place.

_... He really did care about his clan. _

Turning around she faced Hashirama who's jaw was on the floor then and he was frozen in place with his hands on his face looking clearly surprised or seriously shocked.

_'Gods this man was just ridiculous!' _

She was exasperated at this point. "What's wrong now?" He pointed a shaking finger at her then. "You-you!" Her, her what! "Yes?" "You used his first name! How could you Sakura-chan!"

Oh gods not this, she shook her head as she grabbed the paddle from Madara's person and jabbed him with it. He caught it immediately and glared at her.

She shivered, there was a look she was definitely familiar with. "Now that I've got your attention, let's go, the note I sent to your brother will get the Hyuga off your lands only until we return, after that the two of you will have to handle it".

He watched her with those red eyes and she kept herself from letting him see that it was affecting her. Jumping into the boat she looked over at Hashirama. "Push this into the river and lets get going".

"Why do I have to?!" She smiled at him. "Because I said so".

Hashirama groaned and Madara jumped into the bowel alongside her. "What did you send?" "Are you fucking serious! Madara get out of there and help me with this the two of you are too heavy!"

Hashirama was ignored. "I ran into the Hyuga when I first came to Hi no Kuni, they won't go anywhere near your clan so long as I hang the threat of letting out their secrets. ... I only allowed them to know I was amongst you and that you needed a few days before you confronted them".

"The Uchiha cannot face the Hyuga". Hashirama jumped into the bowel then and she began to paddle them along the river. "Don't worry it won't come to that, personally I think you should offer them a place in your village, they are after all a strong clan, something that'll come in handy when your village is built".

"Hmm". She continued to paddle them through. "Sakura-chan". Mentally she groaned, Hashirama never gave them a brake. "How many places have you been to since your village was destroyed?"

It wasn't a secret, she'd noticed quickly that they were trying to get her to talk about herself more. Hashirama's tactic was upfront about it while Madara's had been slight, where Hashirama didn't beat around the bush, Madara was giving up information about himself to get her to feel comfortable about it.

Human connection was possibly the hardest thing to avoid since coming here, she'd alway wanted to help but knew that she couldn't risk it. She made a choice during the last battle between the Uchiha and Senju because she knew it would be worth it in the end to save those children but it had cost her revealing herself to Tobirama.

She sighed then as she looked down at the water, since they wanted something so personal from her she should just give them the one thing they did need to know. "It wasn't my decision to come here you know, I had been willing to die so that the others could survive, but I guess the choice had been made long before any of us could make it. Don't worry to much about getting to know me though, I'm only here to make sure that the monster that destroyed my home and family doesn't destroy either of yours and the only part either of you should know about me is that I really only want to survive long enough for that and then ... then I'd like to die so that I can be reunited with them ... Until then just know that I'm willing to stand beside the both of you until then and when that day comes I'll spill my guts for you okay, possibly, hopefully literally". Turning around she smiled at them.

With the looks in their eyes, the silentness that swept around them as if they were standing in the eye of a hurricane.

* * *

**_First off I love my new job, I literally just sit around and write, read or watch anime or whatever for hours while watching looking up at cameras ever now and then. I have so much time now to keep up with writing. _**

**_Secondly my pup had destroyed three macbook pro chargers on top of a MacBook Air, then I found my old macbook pro and my dog destroyed that charger as well ... she's teething, the new charger came in finally and it's so wonderfully being able to write like this!_**

**_Okay now onto the important stuff, Sakura is not suicidal, not at all she's just ... desperate to be with everyone because this is not her home, You get it. _**

**_Yes Bride token is a real thing, it is common in some asian countries, Africa, and middle eastern countries. It is also called bride price, as well as bride wealth, This is the price that families pay for a girl they want to have married into their family. _**

**_Seishitsu Henka - Nature Transformation. _**

**_This was something interesting that was found out about Uchiha Madara that his dominant element, is in fact not fire but wind ... interesting right. _**

**_the moment between Sakura and Madara where he apologizes is something that is very important for Sakura because she understands that he's not _****_apologizing for what he did in her reality, but it's something she needs to hear for herself because it's important to her that this innocent Uchiha Madara is able to realize his wrong doings and have the ability to apologize for them, something that the Uchiha Madara from her reality couldn't do because he was too far gone. The truth of it is that Uchiha Madara was the catalyst for everything wrong with her world and the catalyst that brought down everyone by reawakening Kaguya albeit unknowingly, her world was destroyed, for that she she's knows that Madara in this world can't know about it, but hearing him acknowledge what he did was wrong and apologizing meant everything to her. _**

**_So I'll see you in the next chapter. _**

**_Thanks for the Favorites and the Reviews, I appreciate you all! _**


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